Why It’s Good To Be A Red Yank

My British brothers and sisters of the Red Army are too close to the action; that’s why it’s better to be a Red Yank!!!  Warning: this was not written to offend so if you’re a sensitive type stop reading now; if you have thick skin and a pair of balls, go ahead and enjoy my light look at our shared journey of being Reds together.

I admit, I have not been inspired much since the end of the season.  Actually, the loss to Spurs to ensure we wouldn’t earn any European football in the 11/12 season was the end of my inspiration for writing this blog.  Over the off-season I’ve thought of multiple topics but I’m not like a lot of bloggers; I don’t write to establish a career in the field---those people are fooling themselves.  I don’t blog to pretend I’m “in the know”; I just don’t have the time or energy to fake it.  I blog simply to share my opinions as a Red Yank, to give you all some perspective from someone outside of the British Isles or instead of someone sucking off the nipple of their favorite Red, who they constantly claim as the “best ever” or, even more jadedly, “a great Red”.

Then it hit me; there are some serious benefits to not being a Red in Britain.  First of all, I’m not exposed to nor do I fall for all the bullshit that is printed in the press over there about the newest, greatest player seen at an airport.  I don’t ride in taxis with drivers claiming they just picked up Aguero and dropped him off at Melwood moments before I hailed them.  I’ve got great weather, beautiful sunshine, great food from every ethnicity in the world and, being a Red on the other side of the ocean, I realize that I’m not connected to the club anymore than the love I have for it, the players, and the ideologies by which Liverpool subscribe.  Yes, I’m not one of the Twidiots © (yeah, that’s me copywriting that) who pretend to know the inner-going-ons of the club and I don’t fake to know a guy who knows a guy whose cousin works as a shit stain remover at the youth academy and has the right ear and left testicle of King Kenny. 

Basically, I’m far enough removed to know that I’m a fan; just a fan…..just like the rest of you.

Plus, being here we get to see a lot of football….I mean, a LOT of football.  Talk to any ex-pat living in the States and you’ll see that they realize the blessing over their past lives in England.  Literally, I  watched every single Liverpool game last season (live).  We get 95% of the Premiership games in addition to about 5 La Liga games each weekend, more Bundesliga games and a few Ligue Une games every single damn weekend.  We get all the Champions League and Europa League games we'd want in addition to Mexican, Chilean, Brazilian, Argentinean and other leagues throughout the year…..all of this without buying additional television packages or having to watch over the internet and most of it in high-definition.  If we wanted to pay another $15 per month we could get literally hundreds of more games per month.  And none of this includes the fact that we get most of the international games from around the world as well.  Basically we here in the States get to watch incalculably greater amounts of football than our British counterparts.   It’s safe to say we pretty much have more football to watch here than is humanly possible; unless you’re a loser without a life, no interests outside of football and are allergic to the sun.  So, to anyone who thinks that Americans can’t possibly know as much about football as other people pull your head out of yer’ ass and realize……….we might actually know more (insert your personal version of a gasp here).

Proof positive; I don’t get in Twitter arguments about who knows what.  I’ll provide my thoughts and fears, and opinions but I won’t fall for the morons who post like they know what’s going on.  The thousands of miles also have not blinded me to the asinine assumption that somehow Lucas was the Player of the Season over Pepe Reina…..how that happened is a travesty (go watch the Newcastle game again—the first one—and tell me who didn’t do shit to close down on Andy Carroll when he shoved a rocket done Pepe’s throat).  Yes, it’s great to be a Red Yank but I definitely cannot wait for my trip to Anfield (looking at this December to catch two games over the holidays); it will be a life-long dream come true.  That’s one thing you British Brothers and Sisters in the Red army have over me every day of the week--every week you get to worship at the temple that will be my Mecca. 

I’ll be sure to try and bring some sun with me.

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #9 – I Hate the Spring

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #9 – I Hate the Spring: "Hello LFC family! As I sit and “enjoy” the Scum Utd v Chelsky snooze-fest I had a revelation, an epiphany, if you will......I hate this ti..."

Edition #9 – I Hate the Spring

Hello LFC family!  As I sit and “enjoy” the Scum Utd v Chelsky snooze-fest I had a revelation, an epiphany, if you will......I hate this time of year!

The spring in Alabama can be beautiful with its constant sunshine and mildly warm temperatures.  We’ve all been in shorts and tee-shirts for weeks now.  The motorcycle has had hundreds of miles put on it already and the ladies are out in all their fine dresses and shorts and skirts and its beer-drinking weather six days a week, if one is so inclined. 

But I cannot help deny the feelings of remorse and depression for the football season is coming to an end, in so many senses.  Scum United look set to win their 19^th trophy, usurping our great club and that pains me to no end.  There is no footie to get me through the summer besides a few internationals and our “wonderful” Gold Cup on this side of the ocean.  The MLS will be in full swing soon, but the Premiership it is not. 

This off-season will be longer than so many others.  Unlike many of the previous years there is hope around the club.  The playing squad has improved drastically and is no longer a one or two “bullet” squad.  King Kenny is building a squad capable of threatening from multiple positions.  There is money to be spent and a director who has promised significant moves over the summer.  In the 16 years of my Liverpool fandom life we have been historically slow moving in the market.  Hearing that some 20+ moves are planned has me anxious to see what will transpire, especially given that we haven't moved very quickly in the past.

Adding to that anxiety is that initially the transfer news was sexy.  We were targeting all of these wonderful attacking players who could help our squad terrorize opposing defenses, but since those early rumors all of the promising players have moved further and further away from us.  Hazard is untouchable, Sanchez is bound for Real or the Scum, Gervinho has said he will only go to a Champions League bound club and Ashley Young moves closer to OT Hell every day.  What are left behind are attractive/solid defensive players; there’s nothing wrong with that but we’ve had solid defensive teams before.  I am too new of a Liverpool fan to remember the feared attacking sides of days prior to the Evans/Houllier regime.  I am READY to see an attacking side---NOW.

Then there is the ugly topic of having to wait through the summer, listening to Scum bandwagon fans talk about how we’ve been “knocked off our damn perch”.  This season of Missed Opportunities really hurts; there were so many chances for clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal to grab the title; it’s painful to watch such a sub-par side like this United side win their 19^th, knowing that we have to listen to their belligerence for months on-end.

So I’ll have to spend my summer months in the heat and sun, passing the time with okay-quality MLS games and hopefully surprising and promising news of new arrivals in our squad while ignoring the very existence of the Scum.

Ugh, I hate this time of year.

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand

Here come the Reds! The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand: "Liverpool has a proud history of being a “family” club. For most of our storied years we’ve prided ourselves in the fact that we had a str..."

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand

We are on the way back!!
The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand: "Liverpool has a proud history of being a “family” club. For most of our storied years we’ve prided ourselves in the fact that we had a str..."

Edition #8 – Europe Essential to the Brand

Liverpool has a proud history of being a “family” club.  For most of our storied years we’ve prided ourselves in the fact that we had a stronger tie to the family aspect than most other clubs and, especially, our greatest rivals.  Not until the failed take-over by the scumbag pair of Hicks and Gillette did Liverpool have to truly face the fact that the game had changed, that family-run clubs were a thing of the past if a club meant to compete at the highest levels.  The subsequent sale of the club to FSG has reinforced that times have indeed changed and no longer can we hold onto that desire of returning to the small scale of being a family business.  It’s time to move on and grow into a commercial entity if we want to compete for Premiership glory ever again.  And that’s a fact.

Commercial success ensures financial success.  Financial success provides options to the ownership which wouldn’t otherwise be available.  Those options include player investment and, more importantly, stadium investment. 

But commercial success does not come without strategic thought.  As ugly a thought as this may be for some of my Red Brothers and Sisters, Liverpool is a product—that’s just the way of modern football in the global age.  Liverpool sits fourth in world-wide replica kit sales behind the two Spanish giants and Scum United.  This is promising.  The miracle in Istanbul further established, and even redefined the brand, some could argue.  Moments like that need to be capitalized on and, as many Reds know, we failed to do that as a club, further falling behind the Scum as a global entity.

But all is not lost, fortunately.  Liverpool is still one of the biggest clubs in the global market.  Through interests of our main sponsor we are already growing deeper roots in Asia and our presence there will likely only become stronger.  We are failing to reach other markets, namely in the Americas.  In terms of a truly dominant global brand, we fall short of the Real Madrid’s, Barcelona’s and Scum United’s of the world and we have to improve on that quickly.

The Financial Fair Play rules are coming into play.  Multiple factors will impact the relative health of the clubs and no longer will we be able to depend on the deep pockets of our owners to boost our fortunes.  The revenue created from other avenues is what will determine our financial power in the new-look game.  Critical to creating revenue streams is the product’s (in this case, the club’s) brand.  One of the simplest observations is that we simply have to have our club’s name in the spotlight.  We have to be repeatedly exposed to the customer base to remain in the forefront of their mind and we have to be there for new customers to find and be attracted to.  That means we have to be in as many competitions as possible, making this weekend’s loss by Spurs and our usurping them so vitally important.  Tell me you weren't happy to hit 5th place today?!

Even though the Europa League is shunned in some corners and mocked in others, it is a competition we simply have to be in if we fail to reach the Champions League.  It will add another six games, at a minimum, but hopefully more, to our schedule.  That equates not only to more opportunities for television coverage but it also means something much more simple—internet and newspaper game reports.  That means keeping the Liverpool name in circulation.  Repetition creates mind-share; mind-share creates a propensity for favoring the product’s ‘brandness’.  The objective then is for that capturing mind-share of as many old and new fans as possible.

Being in any European competition will help reach that objective, but taking those competitions seriously is just as critical.  With King Kenny in charge we have no concerns with that; he will take every competition seriously. 

Europe is our platform for a return to glory.  If it starts in the Europa League then so be it.  As long as we’re in front of the world’s eye we are on the right course.  With Kenny building a more attractive squad and style of play it will be easier for us to draw interest from the neutral or casual observer.  With players like Suarez and Lucas in the squad we have a doorway into South America and adding players of Asian pedigree (can you say Keisuke Honda, even if we can't spell it?) will definitely reinforce the brand image of an already-loved club in that part of the world.

We are there; right on the doorstep of returning to our historical glory and returning to the platform the likes of Scum United, Arsenal and Chelsea currently enjoy.  Then we can knock the Stupid Drunk Scott right off his damn perch!

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #7 – The Right to Stand?

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #7 – The Right to Stand?: "Lately there has been an issue thrust into the fore of the football community—at least the English football community. The rest of the wor..."

Edition #7 – The Right to Stand?

Lately there has been an issue thrust into the fore of the football community—at least the English football community.  The rest of the world doesn’t appear to be debating whether or not to allow standing areas in their stadiums.  So, what’s the big deal England?

Okay, calm down—that was tongue in cheek.  I understand the history behind the side of the debate that says ‘absolutely no’ to allowing standing room in stadiums.  From day one I have built this blog to deliver something different than what I’ve found out on the web to date.  Everyone has an opinion on the club, but not all of those opinions have to sound the same—so I’m not about to allow myself that luxury.

I want to tackle this with a little perspective; a little of my perspective, if you’ll indulge me.  I am an American; I grew up in farm country in the middle of nowhere.  I was born and bred a true American boy; I played and watched all American sports.  This may come as a surprise, but football isn’t considered an “American sport”.  I cannot tell you how many summer nights I spent at the local minor league baseball stadium following our local team.  Looking back it’s still easy to remember how bored I was, even as a serious fan, watching those games through my adolescent years.  Then something magical happened; I joined the United States Air Force and was sent to Germany as my first duty station.  There I had German friends who insisted their new American mate needed to see a football game.  I was 18 at the time, and sure that I wouldn’t enjoy this “sport”; quotes to denote the lack of serious consideration the game received from me, though I’d never watched or played it.  I finally gave in and attended my first match, which saw host 1FC Kaiserslautern beat FC Bayern Munich.  I don’t remember the score, but I do remember standing the entire game in the Weste Curve while 42,000+ Germans stood around me, drinking and singing songs I couldn’t understand for 90 minutes.  It was a revelation for me; I’d found something, forcibly or not, where the sport was the interest, not what happened in between television commercials or those annoying cheerleaders.  It was a new dawn for me and I have not turned back since the fateful day twenty plus years ago.

Why was that experience so enjoyable?  Surely I didn’t understand the game or even why beating this club from Munich was such a big deal.  Hell, I didn’t even know why clubs would put the words “Football Club” in their name at that point.  But I knew I’d just been exposed to a sport that was going to be a new part of the rest of my life.  My love for football quickly grew exponentially because of those early games at the Betzenburg, watching my first professional football team.  The passion that followed has been deep and consistent; I LIVE for football now.  It’s a part of my life 365 ¼ days a year and I attribute that to the early experiences of standing among all those life-long fans, learning about their club, their songs, and their culture. 

Would things have turned out differently if all of my early experiences had been sitting versus standing-experiences?  Would have I have jumped into following this sport had I taken a seat, passed bratwurst to my buddy and stood only during goal celebrations and the occasional rant at the referee?  There is no way to ever know the answer to that.  But I do know that following the sport is much different now in the all-seater world. 

Other countries still allow standing areas in their stadiums.  Before anyone slanders the countries who do allow it, consider who they are.  They are some of the most refined leagues on the content of Europe with football histories as steeped in tradition as the English.  Like many things in the world of football, Germany sets a good example; they have fans just as passionate as the English, just as in love with their clubs and their alcohol and stadia that are just as big/small/old and new.  The Germans are so smart that they have standing areas that are convert to seating areas for European nights!  The Germans (and others) stand week-in and week-out without incident.  Why couldn’t England?

The arguments are often based on emotion.  Lower leagues in England already (still) have standing areas.  The “study” by the licensing authority was hardly that; you need to look at more than ONE, modern stadium to make a determination.  It’s a ridiculously presumptuous statement when so severely restricting your research pool.  What if, all those years ago, I had given soccer one game to make an impression on me and I’d attended the dullest 0-0 draw imaginable?  I probably would have never returned if I’d limited myself to a one-off, right?  We have all seen plenty of stinkers of games where we question whether or not we truly had nothing else more pressing to do with those two hours of our lives, yet we come back each weekend.  Why is it any different when addressing the standing issue?  How does “studying” one stadium justify any rational argument against a return to standing?  The numbers do not support the myth that standing areas in stadiums are a dangerous venture.  Not every club is made equally and not every stadium is either. 

The challenge, then, is understanding the vociferous voices which preach a message of opposition to the idea of any return to standing.  One cannot help but feel for their position, because we know it comes from their heart and their hurt.  Too many bad memories are associated with the concept of standing areas and, like most tragic memories; the cultural impact is long-lasting and difficult to change.  There is no fault in taking that position; any humanist would easily understand it, but to limit the options of ALL football fans because of a relatively restricted population’s desires is unfair. 

Football associations should not be able to dictate policy on what is best for each club in regards to a policy.  What is good for one club or set of fans isn’t necessarily good for everyone.  Clubs should be given the power and freedom to decide for themselves what is best for their fans.  The fans should be able to tell their clubs what they want and what they think is best for them and the club they care about.  A general policy against standing areas blatantly ignores the restriction of flexibility for the clubs to build a business model which best suits them.  The policy restricts the ability of clubs to design a ticket and pricing policy which could realize financial gains those clubs can only dream about.  Additionally, if those voices continue to want to address the safety aspect; they need to research the types of standing areas currently being utilized around the world, many of which are much safer than thousands and thousands of fans who every Saturday continue to STAND in seating areas.  Until they conduct a fair consideration of what is working week-in and week-out around the world they need to stop standing themselves in seated areas while complaining about the danger associated with dedicated standing areas.  The nonsensical nature of those arguments is mind-boggling.

Many clubs and fans suffer when a governing body doggedly clings to a decision point without a greater effort to determine the fairness and viability of its own decision.  The policy is rooted in tragic events of history, before evolution of stadium safety, ticketing and oversight measures being used around the world today.  It is out-dated and unnecessary in many perspectives.  Time should be called on this restriction and bring the game back to what it was to allow a new generation of fans to fall in love with it in its natural state. 

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #6 – Birmingham Recap

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #6 – Birmingham Recap: "A 5-0 score is a hell of a way to start a Saturday morning! Ugly goals, beautiful goals, movement and passing, pass and move; this game ha..."

Edition #6 – Birmingham Recap

A 5-0 score is a hell of a way to start a Saturday morning!  Ugly goals, beautiful goals, movement and passing, pass and move; this game had all of it.  Funny season, isn’t it?  Only a few short months ago we were languishing in mid-table, wishing for the season to be over by Christmas so we could start anew.  The savior came in and turned around a set of players, a club, millions of fans world-wide and an entire culture.  Since his reign started we have gone 8-3-3 and improved our goal difference from -3 to +12.

Of everything we saw today, one of the things that shown through was the unity in this squad that King Kenny has been able to muster since taking control.  As if the post-game celebrations last week at the Emirates weren’t enough of indication, seeing the way the guys moved together and played for each other today warmed the heart.  Maxi’s first goal came from a great sequence of movement from Flanagan to Suarez to Kuyt to Spearing before Maxi hustled the ball in off the rebound.  Kuyt’s work to get in position to support Suarez on the second was rewarded with one of the greatest ugly goals you’ll ever see, all due to his hustle.  The two young lads on the outside turned in equally different yet further respectable displays, with Flanagan taking the opportunities to get forward while Robinson’s hustle closed down any slight moves Birmingham tried to create.  The lasting bit of evidence of this in my mind was in the 85^th minute when Pepe collected the ball and pushed the pace up, distributing the ball like only he can.  He delivered the ball spot-on to Kuyt who got the ball to Cole for his first touch of awkward touches before scoring on a weak shot.  We were up 4-0 at that point; holding the ball and slowing the pace would have been the easy, common answer taken by the team of old.  But in a sign of things to come, a sign of the growing sense of a new dawn for Liverpool, we pushed on, not settling for a Rafa-style death of the game.  This is the type of killer instinct this club has needed for years.  This is the type of the thing that champions do; this will hopefully be the beginning of the new culture at the club.

Yes, this was a display of effort and hustled and common goal achievement.

This was a group of guys playing for the same thing.

This was a display of a group of players building towards a common goal.

This game showed that we Liverpool fans have much to look forward to over the summer and next season.  I, for one, can hardly wait. 

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

Edition #5 – A Billion Ways to Shame

Ah, like a breath of fresh spring air, our beloved Reds swept through what semblance of a Manchester City squad sat in front of us last night.  When I say “sat”, I mean it; the City boys were as stagnant as standing water.  Their performance was disgusting (if I were a City fan) and horribly indicative of a team on the precipice of no return.  Surely I wasn’t the only one who saw the signs of a team leaning towards complete capitulation, was I? So much for a Billion dollars well-spent!

More importantly; how about our boys?  What a great night!  What a nice debut for Flanagan.  And the scoreboard reads:

Carroll/Suarez   4

Torres:                0   (Thank you Roman!)

We cannot possibly be happier about this budding relationship between Carroll and Suarez, could we?  Imagine all that we have to look forward to next season.  A huge shout-out to the big man for his ice-breaker performance!  It was easy to track his delayed reaction of utter joy after that first goal.  Initally he took off, controlled, calm, his arms spread in a t-shape; then the power of love from the Anfield crowd overtook him and his face cracked in that youthful smile, his run picked up pace and his triumphant fist-pump said ‘thank you’—I re-watched it three times for Carroll’s reaction alone.

Other notes from the sinking of the Billion Dollar Babies:  Jay Spearing was all over the place, covering every inch (I’m sorry, I’m American & incapable of spelling it out in metrics) of the field possible without (read Lucas) straying out of position.  He looked three steps quicker than his central midfield partner all game long.  Hopeful signs from the Liverpool lad!  Fabio Aurelio has not had a lot of love from me over the years, but showed solid signs upon his return.  His passing is rarely a problem, but his positioning and tackling typically is, but not tonight.  Staying in the back, did anyone notice Carra/Skrtel?  No?  Me either!! Wasn’t it nice to not sweat through clenched teeth as opposition strikers bullied our back men?  It was as if City played without strikers tonight.  And what can be said about young Flanagan except that he needs to grow some damn facial hair?!  Looking at the boy makes me feel old, very old.  What a debut; solid tracking, conservative runs and passing tact which shows promise.  He finished a little too aggressive in both his forward runs and closing down City players, making him susceptible to easy circumventing, but it was the boy’s debut.  Imagine; us with a home-grown youthful dilemma at Right Back next season between two young ones.  And at what cost to the club?  Arab billions?  We don’t need no stinkin’ Arab billions!

In a less positive note; those of you who know me know, though I’m outgrowing my dislike for Aurelio, I have not moved far in my position over Lucas.  He’s the most active Tweeter on the squad and I’m sure he’s a great guy and wonderful young father, but he still hasn’t sold me on the right to wear our colors.  Against City he lost his footing too easily each time a City player put a simple move on him and his work rate paled in comparison to Spearing’s own.  Worse still, what passes did he make that wetted the appetite and provided anything to our front men?  He plays in the center of the park!!  I have decided to find out WHY there is such a love-fest with Lucas from my Red Brothers and Sisters and the only way I could objectively do that is with numbers---after all, my heart tells me that he is a safe, decent player, but nothing more.  Surely the love so many Red men and women show him means I’m missing something.  But what?  So I decided to track everything he does, and doesn’t do, each game until the end of the season (if ESPN and Fox continue to show all LFC games).  It’s called my “Lucas Tracker” and here my first results from tonight’s game:

The Lucas Tracker

			FS		FC	SOT		Total Shots		Shooting %		Passes		Passes Complete		Passing %		Incisive Passes
11-Apr	Man City		0		1	0		2		0%		40		34		85%		0
Tackles		Successful Tackles		Tackling %			INT		Headers		Headers Won		Heading %		Dribbles		Completed Dribbles		Dribbling %
16		9		56%			4		6		3		50%		13		7		54%

FC-Fouls Committed/FS-Fouls Suffered/SOT-Shots on Target

So far the numbers hardly support the opinion of the Band of Lucas Lovers, at least for this game.  Twitter was alive with people promoting his play against City as one of his best games this season, so he’s either had a very bad year or people honestly believe he played well.  I, and my numbers, beg to differ.  Two horrible shots and barely half of his tackles, headers and dribbles were successful.  And before you try and justify his 85% passing rate consider what he actually does with the ball; it’s constantly going laterally or backwards.  Proof of his uninspired passing is seen in the fact that he didn’t have a single creative (incisive) pass in a game we completely dominated against a jaded team.  He just doesn’t bring anything to the side; at least Jonjo will try to break open a defense; at least Meireles can create and is dangerous into and around the box.  Lucas….well, he occupies space.

It’s time to sit Lucas; I’m still convinced of that.  There are only a handful of games left; let’s see what happens when we push Meireles in the middle and let him make those deep runs.  Or keep Meireles on the wing if we must and let Spearing and Shelvey begin what might be the next midfield pairing for the years to come.  We may never know what the young pair can do if we don’t try and we know for certain that Lucas is not Xabi or even Masch’s better-looking-but-crappier-footballing-cousin.  I just hope that whatever King Kenny’s plans are for the wings in the off-season they involve some form or fashion to get Meireles off the periphery. 

But, alas, even Lucas cannot dampen my spirits tonight.  All signs are pointing in the right direction and have made it so incredibly easy to forget what I saw last week against West Brom.  I, for one, never want to see another episode of This Greek Tragedy again this season.  A longer-term contract should not be long in coming….King Kenny definitely has us moving in the right direction, so……

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #4 – Suffering From Patheticitis

The Red Yank Think Tank: Edition #4 – Suffering From Patheticitis: "I cannot help it; I’m gutted and I’m pissed off. UEFA has another $10 of mine which entitled me to spending two hours of my Thursday a..."

Edition #4 – Suffering From Patheticitis

I cannot help it; I’m gutted and I’m pissed off.  UEFA has another $10 of mine which entitled me to spending two hours of my Thursday afternoon watching Liverpool play Braga on a bad internet feed, and playing pathetically.  Had the boys in Red walked away victorious, propelling us into the next round of the Europa League, then it would have been well worth all the investment.  Hell, who am I fooling?  If we had gone down fighting, with a sense of urgency and understanding of the importance of the moment, I would have been heart-broken but I would have considered it another modern miracle and blessing that I was able to watch my beloved Reds in European competition, live, from the comfort of my home in middle Alabama, and playing for the shirt.  But, alas, it was not to be.

And if I could figure out WHY we were so bad, then maybe things wouldn’t be so bad but the honest-to-goodness-answer is that I can’t.  This is a poor team, with little quality.  And thanks to our exit from the Europa League and the fact that it is highly unlikely we’ll catch Tottenham for 5^th place, all Reds fans must soon start recognizing the ugly truth…..we will be without European competition for the foreseeable future---at least through the 11/12 season.  That means it will be August of the 12/13 season before we can get excited about any form of European football at the earliest!  

Are you okay with that?  I’m not, but there are lots of blogs, articles and internet site comments out there from lots of Liverpool “fans” who claim they gladly traded this season’s successful for the guaranteed exit of the Evil Twins.  Well, do you mean that?  Will you honestly accept not being in Europe for that long and ALL of the consequences of the void?  Think about it?  Are those fans ready to lose out on the viable talents that might have otherwise graced Anfield in our colors but will now chose other paths in order to get into European competitions?  Will they gladly accept the loss of revenue that will come from the gates, television, expanded market presence, etc.?  I won’t!  See, when we do accept those conditions then people like the Evil Twins win.  Under these conditions unless we start producing from within we will fall further and further behind the growing number of teams who threaten the very existence of our legacy unless John Henry is willing to pay above the odds for money-hungry “stars” who will serve the club well as long as they’re receiving fat paychecks.  Maybe then we will get back to a prominent position in the league again.  Even if he is willing and able to do that, after all, it was confirmed that he has re-entered the billionaires club recently, where does that money come from?  Something has to give.  And that giving will likely happen at the expense of the stadium---whether we’re talking about re-development of Anfield or something new, with or without Everton, across Stanley Park.  And if that doesn’t happen then we continue to fall further and further behind the likes of Scum United, City, Tottenham and the likes of Chelsea—as long as the Great Russian Tycoon is willing to open his checkbook. 

Yes, all of these thoughts popped into my head as I watched Braga out-hustle us and show bigger heart over the course of the last 90 minutes.  I had concerning observations throughout, both on the field and on the bench.  Though Danny Wilson showed more positively there were moments of absolute horror at some of his decisions.  Lucas was invisible again, as was Maxi.  Meireles showed none of the magic that has been his calling-card since King Kenny’s arrival.  More concerning was that we created nothing and tried nothing new throughout the entire match, even when it was obvious that Andy Carroll having the ball pumped to him over and over was not working.  It seemed like we latched onto that one mechanism even at our own detriment; sort of like we used to back in the day when Michael Owen could run by anyone and we would just pump the ball into open field and let him run onto it.  I rarely got excited by anything I saw Thursday; it was horribly reminiscent of Uncle Woy days, almost as though we never left them.  In addition to the players on the field, what King Kenny did scared me.  He didn’t adjust to an obviously failing plan and he stubbornly waited way too long to change things up with fresh players who could have brought something different to the game.  Additionally, Joe Cole is shit; let’s just face it.  He should never wear our colors again…ever, yet he starts in a vitally important European survival game!!  What?!  Or how about something even more elementary like lining up with just one striker in a game where we needed a goal?  It was almost as if King Kenny set out to win 1-0 and go to penalties.  That’s not the Liverpool way.  Taking a step further back, we have only scored 16 times in King Kenny’s 14 games in charge, and only 10 goals in the last 10 games.  This with the likes of Suarez, Meireles, Gerrard and Carroll you’d think we could do more than a goal per game.  What started out so promising, with a change of formation and a flowing football, has mutated recently and I have to wonder if that is because King Kenny is trying to secure that contract and is taking that well-trodden path of “playing it safe”.  I, for one, hate that kind of football.

And before we look too far ahead we have a tricky game at the Stadium of Light and Tottenham still has a game in hand.  We cannot slip up again this season; that’s a fact.  If we do, my hope is that King Kenny does the right thing and sits some of the over-paid, under-achieving players.  Maxi, Lucas, Cole, Carragher, Skrtel all need to step aside for the younger guys to come up and get some experience in hopes that they can help us for the long road ahead.  It might sound like sacrilege but it is what needs to happen for the future health of the club.

But I still haven’t given up hope.  There’s a part of me that thinks we could recreate the miracle of Istanbul over the course of 9 games and I believe it….until I look at what lays ahead.  All Reds fans would be best served to realize what we’re faced with and prepare for a bleak time to come.  I dearly hope I am wrong about this but unless the likes of Pacheco, Suso, Sterling, Ayala, Wilson, Kelly can lay a solid foundation for the imported superstars and Henry can get focused on the task at hand, I just don’t see much light ahead.

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank

Edition #3 – The American Perspective of Being Red

You’ve got it tough, right?  You work your ass off, live in a country with little sunshine, narrow streets, congested cities and reportedly (though I’ve never eaten it to know) bad food.  All of that rain must be an utter bummer (or is that ‘bum’ to my British brothers and sisters of the Red army?).  Anyway, I digress.

I’m not being facetious for the sake of it; I think those of you across the pond are some of the luckiest bastards in the world.  Think about the similarities between those of us who follow Liverpool in the States and the core in England.  We all plod the same trail in life, with few exceptions.  We all went to school, started collecting a family and kept those jobs that would support our growing requirements.  Very few of us wake up in the morning thanking our higher power that we get to spend the next 10 hours of our lives with fellow miserable people and office politics.  We may be thankful that we have a job, but that doesn’t mean we are thankful for the very job itself.  So we need a break, a release, something that will get us through those dreary days.  And for thousands of us that thing is Liverpool Football Club. 

When Saturday comes our worries and concerns are washed away, even if just temporarily, by the boys in Red.  We lose ourselves in that fantasy world, that wonderful place where we don’t have to worry about money or responsibilities and we can sit back, get in touch with are barbaric roots and lose ourselves in the simplicity of being a football fan.  It’s a beautiful thing; tainted with the emotion of the glorious wins, nail-biting draws or the heart-breaking losses.  It is life’s perfect paradox; it is “just” a game that means nothing in the worst moments of life but yet to us, to the die-hard, it means everything….and, sometimes, more. 

Yes, for us American football fans, it is that as well.  My overseas brothers and sisters in the Red Army get to transport to the stadium and take the atmosphere in; it is a source of envy for those of us on this side of the big, blue pond.  We envy that you can stand in the Kop, that you get to sing the songs or, for those lucky few, you get to pounce down to the advertising boards when Gerrard scorches a Champions League winner from 30 yards against Turkish opposition in the dying moments of a game.  Though your American brethren can rarely do that, we do the best we can for game days.

To date this season, Liverpool have played 29 games and, because of the incredible football television coverage here, I have watched all of them live---something I understand is unheard of on British television.  It’s a magnificent way to be intimately involved in the season.  I can’t sleep well the night before a big game and countless Saturday or Sunday mornings have passed where I’ve risen before the sun to catch the game live.  There are numerous Liverpool fan clubs all over this great country; I am a member of one which is two hours away from me in Atlanta, the LFC Redmen & Liverbirds, who I have just found.  The group uses the power of the internet to organize meets in downtown Atlanta pub to watch our beloved Reds together and, though I cannot wait to catch up with them, rest-assure I will report the experience here to share with those of you on the other side. 

American Reds are just as invested in this club as our overseas brethren.  We do everything we can to support our team, both on game-day and monetarily speaking.  We are in this with our British Red family; we all have the same objective—to see our beloved Reds be successful as they can be and, hopefully, return to a position of brilliant dominance of British football….oh, and to make the Stupid Drunk Scot sit down and shut the hell up forever.  Know this, the American Reds are just as passionate as any Red….6,000 miles of water be damned!

Until we meet again,

The Red Yank