Red pride rising
OUR days ago, Starsport carried a heading titled āMake Way for the Reds (They wish)ā in its back page.
And guess what? We received phone calls and emails from irate Kop fans condemning us for ābelittlingā Liverpoolās achievements and āinsultingā an institution revered throughout the world because of those two words in parentheses.
Now hang on a second, all you Kop.
I am a staunch and devout Liverpool fan myself ā have been since 1972 and always will be. Thatās why I am Red2TheCore.
So, believe me when I say that those two words were never meant to insult or belittle Liverpool in any way.
It was put there to temper my fellow Redsā expectations after our League Cup win over Cardiff City. A tongue-in-cheek reality check.
If only we were so passionate about the injustices in society and life. This is sports. It is meant to be fun. It is meant to encourage friendly rivalry, banter and opposing views. Not shut off dissent or open debate. Thatās not sports. Thatās intolerance so unbecoming of true Kop fans.
Such emotional and irrational reaction is sad indeed. Thankfully, it was only a small faction of the glorious legion of Liverpool fans.
Yes, we won the League Cup for a record eighth time on Sunday. It was our first trophy in six years. Thatās a long time for any Liverpool fan used to the glory days of the 70s and 80s.
So cheers to that and enjoy the moment.
But letās face some home truths as I reel out the facts the Rafa Benitez way.
Fact No. 1: Itās just the League Cup ā not the EPL or Champions League crown. Heck, itās not even the FA Cup.
Fact No. 2: We very nearly lost to a Championship (Second Division) side, for heavenās sake!
Full credit to Cardiff City, who played well, showed plenty of heart and gave it a real go.
They held Liverpool, of Premier League pedigree, to a 2-2 draw after extra-time, forcing the match to be decided on penalties (which we thankfully won 3-2).
Fact No. 3: We played poorly. For a club with Premier League and Champions League ambitions, we were pathetic (except for the early stages of the first half). And we had five players worth a total of more than Ā£100mil on show ā Andy Carroll (a club record Ā£35mil), Stuart Downing (Ā£20mil), Jordan Henderson (Ā£20mil), Charlie Adam (Ā£8mil) and Luis Suarez (Ā£25mil).
And what did we get from them?
Carroll battled hard and ā¦ thatās about it. Henderson was a sheer waste of money. Adam was a mere passenger. Suarez was mediocre on the night. Only Downing came anywhere close to justifying his big-money transfer.
Fact No. 4: We are definitely not ready to fight for a top four finish ā let alone the Premier League title. Not based on the performance against Cardiff.
Fact No. 5: We are still a long way from being the finished product. We still need to purge some deadwood from the team and bring in some real quality signings.
Fact No. 6: We need to beat the lower rung teams with the kind of efficiency and ruthlessness that the Liverpool of old did back in the good old days.
Itās one thing beating the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur but what is the point if we then go out and lose to (no disrespect guys) Norwich, Stoke, Bolton and the like.
Can Liverpool fans look me in the eye and say that the team are on the verge of greatness? We are, at best, a team in transition.
There is no need to lose our perspective, composure, dignity or sense of humour.
http://football.thestar.com.my/2012/03/03/red-pride-rising/And guess the reactions after his thoughts was printed on paper?
1.Bev TJoeman: The more I read the more disgusted I get!!! He's belittling our responses & heart felt pride in our team!! Tag LFCtv unto this rag.. Let them know of so-called Red Mano's take on LFC and on the Red Fans!!
2.Azri 'Ace' Abdullah Paljeet :you read it the way you want to ... I read it as an arrogant 'fan' trying to justify what was written by his idiotic colleagues ... with no remorse , disrespecting the club and it's fans ... even to the point of dismissing us for voicing out our displeasure ... if these idiots think they can just write anything just cause they're so-called 'journalists' and there are no consequences ...
It's time to show that they do not screw with Liverpool FC and it's fans ... !!
3.Surin Jesuthasan:Hey Mano if you are really red to the core, what do the lyrics of You'll Never Walk Alone say? It is about standing by each other through thick or thin. We should encourage our team and support them.
Can you imagine what it would have been if every Liverpool fan at Istanbul on that faithful night was to think like you and just slagged off the team at half time for being 3-0 down. It was the support and loud singing of YNWA that boosted the teams confidence which led them to win their 5th European cup & their 8th European honours.
I as a hardcore Kopite since 1978, when I was a wee lad of 8 years, observe a sublime performance that demolished a hugely talented Spurs team 7-0. Naturally at that age, I decided that this was the team I was going to support.
34 years have past and I have gone through so much joy and pain. I have cried tears of joy and pure sadness. I have witnessed tragedies being associated to Liverpool FC along with glory as well. Yes, there were times, I would curse and yell when the team makes silly mistakes but never have I slagged them off or disrespected them in public. More so when they have achieved something.
Think about this, since our last title in 1990, what is the worst LFC has done? It has been frustrating, but do we dump them and slag them off till they win the League title? I would hate to think if you have children and when they do not perform to your expectations that you would berate them in public. Rather than encourage them to do better.
4.Shaun Ooi : I just feel journalist should not generalise with the rest of the fans their opinion. i was truly and well happy with the Carling Cup "thriller". I was happy with Istanbul and the FA Cup win that were both equally dramatic and comebacks of the century. So, if he expects an easier win then where's the fun in that? I always feel winning and losing in football is part of the game, the thing you can't buy is excitement, suspense, fear, anxiety, elation and the joy of knowing your team fought hard or made to fight hard for the win. it's what cups are made of. So if Mano does not understand that, then he should be a plastic waving fan because then any money team would give u a good time (he wish). and I put the brackets in with no sarcasm.
And the best part is they did actually e-mailed Stan Chart about this matter and did get the response.
Response from Standard Chartered:Thanks for your comments about headline in The Star. We will of course let the paper know that weāve received this feedback and weāre sure they will take it on board. Ultimately though we shouldnāt let this detract from what was a fantastic result for the Reds with more to come in the FA Cup hopefully!