To be honest, I think your lot will beat us by 2 or 3 this weekend. You have some top players, whilst I feel we're as vulnerable as we've ever been in the past 10-20 years at the moment. Very easy pickings if your lot are up to it.

I really hope you're right mate, I just can't see it. Last season we wern't up for it for whatever reason and we suffered for it. Although, Newcastle game apart, we've been creating a number of goalscoring chances this season, should that trend continue I think we can score a few goals but no Jagielka at the other end is a worry as is the rumours Fellaini picked up a knock for Belgium on Tuesday night. Would you risk Torres? is it worth playing him if he's not back to 100%?

It's almost pointless playing him in this current system. The way we're playing at the moment isn't to anybody's strengths, which is why we're continually struggling. Our results, performances and general game plan has been very poor. For your lot, you have to fancy your chances, we're massively lacking confidence, players are unfit, players are being played out of position, players are in woeful form, players can't adapt to the system/tactics, poor players are playing regularly whilst the 'big guns' aren't firing/aren't there anymore. I'll never write the game off as it's a derby, but bluenoses have to be considering themselves favourites for this considering our results/performances this season.

I hate going into the Derby favourties



Robbie, I don't believe you're a Liverpool fan. No offence mate, but I feel you provide a reasoned football argument without only talking about how good Liverpool are, and how great things will happen in the future. Unless all this negativity is just a cover up?



I can see a 1-1 draw. Us ahead in the 60th, you'll equalize in 77th.

If theres a winner between Wolves and West Ham we'll both be in the bottom three at the start of play. Wonder when the last time that happened was?

Durrr

Everton 17th

Hence the reason I was wondering why so confident?

Shouldn't you be getting ready to shout murderers for 90mins then lob coins if the result doesnt go your way?


Thankfully YNWA wont be played before the start of the game due to the Liverpool fan getting killed for singing it by a gang of bluenoses, no doubt your lot would of shown lack of respect if it had.

It's not negativity, it's just a realistic view of things. We have a club that, over the past decade, has been completely reshaped in its tactics, methods and general way of running things; we've gone from an English club to a European club. Houllier built foundations, Rafa came in and completely revamped everything for the better, he was and is a world class coach, but his tenure had to come to an end as the relationship between all was becoming so much of a strain that it was affecting results, IMO. Although I did feel Rafa did need replacing, the choice of replacement couldn't have been any worse (well, it could have, obviously, but we brought in someone we really didn't need). Hodgson is a good coach for a side where expectations are low and the emphasis to 'play' is on the opposition. I was reading the opinion of one of his former players, he said his training sessions were the best he'd had as he set up a lot of 'real match' situations, but, he always emphasised on structure, defensive strategy and 'sitting deep', instead of pushing the side up and controlling play. If you compare that to Benitez, a coach who was heavily influenced by people like Arrigo Sacchi and Rinus Michels, he preferred his side to constantly press and chase the opposition, 'making the pitch as small as possible', yet making it as big as possible on the ball, making sure we kept possession well and controlled play. Roy's route 1 style doesn't work, that's obvious, but the choice of player he's using at the moment is also resulting in us struggling: Poulsen in midfield explains himself, Joe Cole being played centrally with little service explains itself, Torres chasing long balls with nobody within 20 yards of him explains itself, the way we set up when defending, the way we are in possession, playing players like Jovanovic out wide and Gerrard in midfield with Meireles further up, it all doesn't make sense. I like Roy as a character, he's a nice guy, but he isn't correcting his mistakes and, at his age, I find it hard to believe he's willing to change his ways to suit a club with such expectations.

The game should be a good one on the weekend, but I expect the likes of Cahill, Arteta and Pienaar to have 'too much' for us to handle, if we can get an early lead, we should be able to get a draw, but on the field we're probably in a poorer state than we are off it, IMO.

No Everton fan I have spoken to is confident! The majoroty of Blues/ Reds I have spoken to have said draw. So no blue is as confident as any Red makes out. Neither myself or Dan has said we will beat you.

I've never shouted murderers at anyone, I doubt Dan has either. I have also never lobbed a coin. Shall I tar you with the same brush as the Anny Road crew that throw p1ss and over the away fans in the tier below every home game??

Whats with the out pouring of grief over the YNWA not being played? What difference will it make whether its played or not? It'll just give every excuse for the opposition to say play this at your ground, play that, somebody died. I have every sympathy for the lad, and his family, but its a football match not a memorial service.

You will no doubt make reference to the Rhys Jones thing, that was different, that was a national tragedy, as was Hillsbrough, when YNWA was played at Goodison.

Robbie,

What do you think of Rafa's reign? I personally thought, CL win aside, he took you backwards. Concentrated too much on Europe, brought a continental style/ tempo to a PL side and IMO neutral supporters lost a lot of respect for LFC because of Benitez and his antics of being a sore loser/ showing other teams lack of respect/ making himself look rather silly with his selections / outbursts.

Why is he so loved by some supporters?

Read it again I said I didn't want it played.

You and Dan FC must be some of a few very who don't because its not just one or two its the whole Park end and the whole away end when at Anfield that sing it.

I thought his reign was excellent for the most part, held by back a few things. The way we played for the most part, IMO at least, was very good. We passed the ball well, always from the back (Carra the odd exception every now and then), we had a great shape to the team with some world class players, it was Rafa's inability/lack of final push financially to identify world class creative players that stopped his side being a 'great' one instead of just a good one. The side of 08/09, IMO, was the greatest Liverpool side I've seen (I am only 19, remember that), purely because it was so complete, so versatile, so consistent yet utterly devastating when on top form. The mad month or so that we had that coincided with the rant really did ruin that season, as that side should have won the league IMO.

Anyway, as for Rafa's reign, I thought it was generally good but it became damaged too much, too often, by things in the board room. As you can see at Inter now, he's happy in his surroundings, so he'll happily accept that he's the 'coach', but, when here, so many decisions were (incorrectly IMO) being made above him, he became so frustrated that he had to become power mad, as he was repeatedly taking the blame for others mistakes, that's what the whole fuss over his contract was. Still, the biggest flaw that left a real dark mark on his time here will be the sale of Alonso. We know Xabi wanted to go, but only after he was given the push by Benitez. I know it's a professional sport, but we still haven't replaced Xabi (Meireles should do it), which is why we finished 7th last year, IMO.

Still, I feel he left the club and team in decent shape, he revamped our academy (rightly so) to try and start churning out world class locals, he left the squad with a solid core group of players, but the tight board/poor decisions by Roy have made that squad look weaker than what he left it. Still, I think Rafa done well, he took over a side flirting between the CL and the Wafer cup, but turned us into one of the top 5 sides in Europe and even gave us our best punt at the league in two decades. I never thought that Rafa, as a footballing man, should have been sacked, it was the way that off the field matters began to effect him and the team, I could see it was becoming too much for both parties to carry on.

I've been too 3 derby's in the past 5 years and never heard it sung...only kopites are gobsh...song.

I doubt the whole of the PE sing but if they do, why not walk over and ask them to explain their chant.

God's gift to Liverpool.

Not trying to make you bite or anything like that but why does/ should the boardroom farce have an affect on the team? Surely the team should just go out and do its thing and be able to take their minds off things that probably have little to do with them personally.

Its not as if Benitez had no money too spend. I am so glad you pointed out that Alonso wanted to go, as some LFC fans are in denial of that, same with the Masc one, insisting that Benitez was forced too sell them, despite Ben not being there when Masc was sold.

So, I'm guessing you're pro-Rafa then?

Not God's gift, just appreciated in a country where people like Harry Redknapp are worshiped.

Who do you prefer, Deaks, Rafa or Roy? (By that I mean from a footballing view, not a knob view

)

I think Rafa was a good manager for you. I honestly thought you were going to win the league in 2008/2009. If it wasn't for Ronaldo you probably would have, it's crazy to think that you only lost two games in the league that season and the last 11 games there was some great football played. The only thing I never understood is how many fans stuck up for his bad decisions i.e transfers, tactics etc.

Who worships Harry Redknapp? Apart from 10 year old Pompey fans.

Similar to renditions of "who's that lying on the runway" sang on the away concourse at OT this year and hundreds, and unfortunately I mean hundreds of aeroplane signs as well. I'm also fully aware that we have numpties as well.

I don't claim not to hear it though.

Good point.

Exactly right mate, I don't sing murderers to Liverpool fans never have and I don't see why I ever would, I'm there to support my team. I'm with you on the draw too, I've already got a few quid on 1-1 as I can't see it any other way. I'm certainly not confident like Wire_85 says we are, I'm never confident on derbies and the way they have gone in recent years there's not reason to be thinkin we'll definately win this one.



You're making a lot of assumptions there mate. I don't sing muderers, but let's be honest in a a crowd of 30 odd thousand you're bound to get a few thousand idiots. and the coin throwing? you make it seems like it's one way thing, there been plenty of throwing incidents the other way too. As for the lad being killed last week it wasn't as you make it sound, do you know the full story? I would suggest not posting snippets of things if you don't exactly what went on. An 18 year old lad was killed, why the fook would Everton fans not respect it? you need to give your head a wobble.

I don't sit in the Park End so it wasn't me. I was in the away end last season and believe me it wasn't the whole of the away end, nowhere near it.

Would you like me to pretend I have heard it at a game? Will that make you feel better?

I do know the full story so don't suggest I don't.

But am guessing in your eyes it had nothing to do with what he was singing.

So you're saying that he was killed by Everton fans because he was singing YNWA.

Wow, libel-tastic!

Did I say I was bothered by it? I was just suprised you aint heard it when its the main song they sing, it gets laughed at which seems to make the ones doing it even more angry.