By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 31 January 2006

This past Sunday was another workday for me, meaning I had to miss the fourth round FA Cup match against Pompey. All I was able to see from this one was highlights, which look as though I didn’t miss very much. Of course, Riise’s patented left-footed strike from just outside the left side of the box, 20 yards or more from goal, was worth seeing. But, from all accounts it was a good turnout of support at LSPH, and for that alone I am sorry to have missed it.

Last week I was e-mailing back and forth to my friend Darin, who is in Edmonton for a while, and happened to mention that even though we have to suffer the bragging of the Man Ure supporters for another week or two, we may yet have a chance for revenge before the end of the season as we could face them in the FA Cup. Then, in the evening after the Pompey match, Kevin sent me an e-mail telling me about the good turnout of support and closed with the comment that he hopes we are drawn at home for the next round. Lo and behold, both wishes have come true with the draw for the fifth round. This is definitely our chance for revenge, our time has surely come!

Some startling facts about previous FA Cup encounters with the mancs: We have played them twice in the final (1977 and 1996), losing both times by a single goal. I had to think really hard about when was the last time we beat them in this competition and I came up blank. It turns out that we haven’t beaten them since 1921. What’s worse is that we have played them four times in the Premiership under Rafa with a grand total of no wins, one draw, three losses, one goal for (early last season) and four against. Any neutral could be forgiven for thinking that the odds are impossibly stacked against us and that we simply have no hope of beating them. But of course, I’m not one of those neutrals, and I could never forgive myself for thinking that we can not beat them this time, just as I think we can every time.

Last season, Chel$ki had the advantage over us in the Premier League, which was becoming all too common for every other Premier League club as well, with Roman’s millions behind them. We came close to beating them in the League Cup Final, but lost in extra time. Then, as if we hadn’t played them enough already, we were drawn against them in the semi-final of the Champions League. The press were all over the “Battle of Britain” with the majority of cocky cockneys predicting a win for Moro’s millionaires. We knew that this was going to be different. We knew that the arrogance of Chel$ki would be enough motivation for the Reds. After the first leg at Stamford Bridge ended scoreless, some doubts started to creep into the minds of the experts. Moron-io predicted that they would win as they would only need one goal at Anfield to take it. We knew it wouldn’t be so easy.

On the day before that second leg match, at an Anfield press conference, a London journalist was interviewing Rafa, with the conversation going something like this:

Journalist: Is Moron-io the best manager in the world?
Rafa: He’s one of the best.
Journalist: But is he the best?
Rafa: He’s one of the best.
Journalist: But he hasn’t stopped winning.
Rafa: Until tomorrow!
Journalist: ****** (deafening silence) ****

We face a similar situation this time with Man Ure as the victims. I know they’ll be sure of themselves; that all they have to do is show up and they’ll win. But, this time Rafa will be ready to send out a squad that will give everything they have to win. This time it’s at Anfield, which means that we’ll have the magic of the 12th man with us. This time, if nothing else, we’re due for a win after 85 years.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to be busy to put it mildly. Wednesday sees Birmingham coming to Anfield, which should be an emotional night for Robbie’s return. That match will not be televised which is a real shame. Then next Sunday we travel to Chel$ki, followed by a trip to Wigan the following Saturday and then home to Arse-nil on Valentine’s Day. No confirmation yet on whether any of these will be televised.

The FA Cup match against Man Ure is scheduled for Saturday, February 18th, which should be available via satellite at LSPH; watch this space for more details. I’ll be there for that one, no problem! I hope to see lots of you there as well and I’m sure you’ll join me in an “emotional” welcome back to Anfield for Mr. Neville (and the rest of them, of course). Let’s see if he shows as much “passion” after the match as John Terry did after last season’s Champions League semi-final at Anfield.

In North American sports, there are several drafts each year for teams to acquire new players. The entry draft, the waiver draft, the dispersal draft and the expansion draft are just a few. In football (at least in Europe) there is no draft as such but there is, if you’ll excuse the pun, a transfer window that opens up twice a year.

It was becoming more common for players to be transferred from one club to another over the summer off-season months, and so it was no surprise that this period of time was kept as the most active for player movement. The days of players moving throughout the season have gone, with just one opportunity for mid-season transfers being allowed in January. The irony is that at this time last year we were desperately short of players, because of injuries, but were only able to make one significant signing – Morientes, plus a goalkeeper for the future - Carson. This year, we are not so much in need of players but Rafa has managed to sign no less than five.

The need for more players has been evident since the summer, following some disappointing rejections from certain big names (not to be mentioned). So it was no surprise that Rafa made it clear that he was after a centre back to provide cover for Hyypia and Carragher, a right sided midfielder, and if possible some help up front. In no time at all, we had a swap deal with Villareal sending Josemi in exchange for Kromkamp. Agger came soon after and so the pieces were starting to fall into place. We also picked up Paul Anderson from Hull city in exchange for John Welsh, and then David Martin from MK Dons. A push for a right side midfielder was unsuccessful with a last minute deal with Deportivo La Coruna for Victor falling through. That’s a serious disappointment since Rafa really wanted to put Gerrard back in the middle rather than keeping him as a makeshift right winger. Nevertheless, 5 new players for around £6 million is an excellent deal.

Meanwhile, on their way out of Anfield are Josemi and Welsh (both swap deals, noted above); as well as Gonzalez, Sinama-Pongolle, Raven, Potter, and Mellor, all out on loan. My guess is that so many loan deals have been arranged, in preference to permanent transfers, so that Rafa can keep the option to bring these players back after a steady period of first team football. All of them are young and somewhat inexperienced and so should benefit from this arrangement. If they prove themselves now while on loan, they can be valuable future assets for the club.

But, will any of us be thinking of such trivial matters when we see Robbie Fowler back in a red shirt? The shock signing is not really such a shock as it turns out. There were rumours that Robbie could return on a short term loan or pay me as you play me deal for several months. There was also a rumour that there may be a swap deal for Mellor in the works, but I would have to say I’m thankful that never happened.

I’m sure that I’m not the only one with mixed feelings over Robbie’s return. It’s often been said that you can never go back, but that was certainly not true for Ian Rush. His year at Juventus was not what he had hoped and he made the easy decision to come back. His return put pressure on his replacement, John Aldridge, with the eventual outcome being that Rush stayed and Aldridge was on his way out. Aldo’s last appearance as a Red came in a 9-0 thrashing at Crystal Palace where he was brought on as a substitute for a penalty. The commentator at the time tried to describe the emotions of the crowd who were obviously sad to see him go, but understanding that there was not room enough for both him and Rushie. It was all summed up by the statement that “Liverpool Football Club has always put success before sentiment.” That attitude continues, several managers later with Benitez, so the Robbie move must be for what he can do on the field, not for how popular he is in the stands. The question I have, though, is Robbie expected to be our “saviour,” notwithstanding his nickname “God”? The strange thing is that we’ve seen this before.

Only a year after the Kop bid an emotional farewell to Aldridge, Dalglish saw a need for some additional strike power. Along comes Israeli international Ronnie Rosenthal, on loan from Standard Liege, and scoring in his debut on March 31st 1990, against Southampton. In only five starts and three as sub, he scored seven goals. That was the just what the side needed, giving them the needed momentum to win the title (our last). The loan became a permanent transfer over the summer, but Rosenthal was mainly used as a substitute, not being called on to start a match until December 22nd, replacing the injured Peter Beardsley. From there, his Anfield career was mostly in the reserves, with only the occasional first team appearance before his transfer to Spurs.

More recently, and for an even shorter stay, was the surprise signing of Nicolas Anelka in December 2001. Anelka had previously played under Gerard Houllier at France’s National Youth Academy in 1995. The year 2001 will always be remembered as the “Treble” year, as well as for the departure of Robbie Fowler in November of that year. Houllier had decided that his best strike partnership was Owen with Heskey, leaving Fowler as no more than an occasional squad player, or as a substitute. Robbie’s departure was another emotional farewell, where a fan favourite was seen as surplus to requirements. Strangely, though, it was then decided that some additional fire power was needed and so Houllier took the opportunity of acquiring Anelka on loan from Paris St. Germain, with the option of a permanent transfer at the end of the season. His recent performances had been below par, and so it was assumed to be a shrewd move by Houllier to hopefully help him to regain his previous form. He went on to score five goals in twenty one games. His last match and last goal as a Red was in the 5-0 home win over Ipswich, to secure second place in the League.

Liverpool was Anelka’s fifth club in six years after leaving Arsenal and Real Madrid in supposedly controversial circumstances, although the details have never been fully explained. It was not a great surprise when the transfer option was rejected that summer, and Anelka was released. Just to show how strange this game can be, he then went to Manchester City, to be joined only six months later by Robbie Fowler, after his spell at Leeds.

So what can we really expect from the return of God? We know that he is one of the most talented natural scorers ever to have played for Liverpool. We also know that even though he was a boyhood Evertonian that he is a passionate Red, and has been since joining the club at age eleven. He has said in the past that he would have crawled on his hands and knees all the way back to Anfield if he was to be given the opportunity to return. There are not many players who can make that statement of commitment and be believed. Unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that he has not been the same player since his departure just over four years ago. A series of injuries has kept him out of the starting line-up at Man City, resulting in only a handful of substitute appearances so far this season. Then again, when the opportunity came to play a full ninety minutes in their FA Cup match against Scunthorpe, the instinctive goalscorer showed that he still has it by scoring a hat trick. On top of that, we were all full of praise for his late strike as a substitute to bury Man Ure 3-1 a couple of weeks ago.

We can only guess what role Robbie will play from now until the end of the season. For one thing, he gives us another option up front; an obvious guess is to pair him up with Crouch and see how they work together. Another obvious point is that one more striker in the squad will put pressure on Morientes and Cisse, as well as Crouch of course, to lift their game if they want to be named as starters. Either way, Robbie could be the “supersub” that we haven’t had for so long, just as he was recently against the mancs. In fact, I’m sure he’ll start quite a few games on the bench. He has to work on returning to match fitness before he can be expected to perform to his full potential. One thing that is not in doubt is that we cannot lose in this deal. Robbie comes on loan for the balance of the season and will then be available permanently on a free transfer. Whether that permanent move comes to pass or not will depend on what happens over the rest of this season.

So, it’s welcome back Robbie; great to see you come home at last. I know we’re all going to love every minute of it. Make the most of it and enjoy yourself, but it would be wise not to make yourself too comfortable.

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