By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 22 February 07.

How many times have I had to say it, and argue about it? The first time was in 1977 when I’d only been in Canada for a couple of years and Liverpool were on the verge of winning their first European Cup, as well as the League Championship and the FA Cup. I was trying to explain to my Canadian colleagues at work how important it was to me and why I cared so much about a few games taking place thousands of miles away.

“Football in England is like a religion, football in Liverpool is a religion” I explained.

“So, you mean like the same way that hockey is a religion in Canada then?” someone was bound to say.

“Well, sort of, but much more than that. Way, way more than that. And, not only that, but Liverpool are obviously by far the best team in England, if not Europe and the rest of the world.”

“So you mean that they are to English soccer something like the Montreal Canadiens are to NHL hockey?”

“Well if you put it that way then maybe so, but since I know next to nothing about hockey then I’ll have to leave it at that and just say that we are comparing two completely different things.”

I have to wonder now if there really is that much difference. Or is it just that we are talking about two different clubs in two different sports, with each of us thinking that ours is better than the other and not seeing the opposing point of view? I would have been happy to forget those arguments without any further thought, but naturally the takeover of Liverpool FC by George Gillett and Tom Hicks has brought these arguments to mind again recently. Both men are current owners of National Hockey League clubs; one club (Dallas, owned by Tom Hicks) with a recent rise to success, and one club (Montreal, owned by George Gillett) with a glorious past but not so much success in recent years. Of the two clubs, it’s the glorious history of the Montreal Canadiens that interests me more, even though they haven’t seen much success since 1993.

Montreal Canadiens, the most successful hockey club in NHL history, was founded in 1909, making them the oldest club in the National Hockey League. They were one of the founding clubs of the original six of the NHL. They have won more Stanley Cups than anyone else with 24, the most recent one being won in 1993. The next closest franchise to them is Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 Stanley Cups, and in fact Montreal have won more Stanley Cups than all other Canadian clubs combined (19 in all with Toronto’s 13, Edmonton’s 5, and Calgary’s 1) since the NHL was formed. That’s eerily familiar when compared with Liverpool’s record 18 League Championships - but none since 1990, and five European Cups - being as many as all other English Clubs combined. Montreal are also the only club to win five consecutive Stanley Cups, and managed to win six out of ten times during the 1970’s. Again, that’s eerily familiar as a team that once dominated a league but has since struggled to reclaim that outstanding former glory, just as Liverpool dominated the 1980’s but have not won the league title since then.

In 1926, the club moved into the newly built Montreal Forum, making it their permanent home until 1996. The building itself became a shrine to hockey fans all over the world, with people coming to Montreal and wanting to just enter the building and experience the extraordinary atmosphere of the place; just like visitors to Anfield do. The dressing rooms were the centre of the mystique that surrounded both the club and the building. As former goaltender Ken Dryden describes it in “The Game,” (1983):

After the Montreal Canadiens left the Forum in 1996 the site was listed as a place of historic and cultural significance, and the area was converted to a shopping and entertainment complex. On that site is a bronze statue of the legendary player Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. One of the entrances has a large bronze Montreal Canadiens crest cemented into the sidewalk, with the 24 banners commemorating the Stanley Cups around it. Also, inscribed in the cement are the words “Pour toujours fier” which translates as “Forever proud.” We can guess that when we finally move from Anfield to our new stadium, there will be at least one statue (Shankly, and hopefully Paisley as well), and a memorial plaque to commemorate the old location that served as our heart and soul for so many years. Surely that will have something similar with the crest, the trophies won, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” inscribed into the marble, or cement, or bronze of the plaque. Would we have it any other way?

The Montreal Canadiens hockey club has always believed in tradition, and that is reflected in the continuity of management of the club. Former players become talent scouts, coaches, and managers. That’s obviously a similar philosophy to Liverpool’s “boot room” traditions, where Shankly’s assistant Paisley became the new manager when Shanks retired, and then former players became coaches, who in turn later became managers, and so on. It was no coincidence that the final game that the Canadiens played in the Montreal Forum was against the Dallas Stars; both Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau were members of the Dallas squad at that time, as General Manager and team captain respectively, and both were formerly Canadiens captains earlier in their careers. Hence the final game to be played at the fabled arena was as much a celebration of the glorious history of the club as it was also a form of testimonial to the club and the players.

At the end of that last game played in The Forum, a phalanx of former team captains passed a ceremonial torch all the way from the most senior at one end, finally handing it off to the then captain Pierre Turgeon at the other, who then carried the torch to the new building in a procession that also carried the championship banners and retired player jerseys to their new home. (It is also said that the ghosts that haunted the corridors of The Forum followed along, but that’s just a rumour – or is it?)

The fabled Montreal Canadiens hockey club was up for sale in 2001 when an American, George Gillett, stepped in with the only offer to purchase the franchise. The club already had their new arena, the Molson Centre (named after Molson Breweries, the owners of the franchise at the time) after leaving the famous Montreal Forum in 1996. The new arena later became known as The Bell Centre (le Centre Bell), when the naming rights came up for renewal under Mr. Gillett’s ownership.

The great fear from the fans’ point of view was that this was an American owner who wouldn’t understand the culture of the club and the proud traditions that they held dear. But, their fears were dispelled immediately when Mr. Gillett quietly assumed ownership and made no changes in the running of the club. His preference is to let those who know what they are doing continue to do so, and let the club prosper in their hands. In 2003, Bob Gainey was hired as General Manager following a few years of mediocrity of results for the club. Gainey is a former Canadiens captain (1981-89) and Hall of Famer (1992), who certainly understands the traditions of the club. He in turn hired Head Coach Guy Carbonneau and Assistant Coach Kirk Muller in 2006, both of whom were former Canadiens captains themselves. So much for the fans’ fears that Gillett would “Americanise” their beloved club! With all of that in mind, we can feel confident that Mr. Gillett will not attempt to make Liverpool a team in his own image, and he has stated several times that he is delighted to have David Moores accept a place on the Board as Lifetime President as well as keeping Rick Parry in charge as Chief Executive.

The Montreal Canadiens hockey club and their fans believe very strongly in tradition, they have a worldwide following of highly knowledgeable fans, and even though they have not achieved the same success in recent years as they once did during their years of League dominance, they are still highly respected throughout the world of hockey, and have retained a huge core of dedicated fans. It’s possible that we, as Liverpool FC and our fellow supporters, are not all that different to the Montreal Canadiens hockey club and their fans. Perhaps fate has brought us together under our new owner because of our similarities, and perhaps we should make a concerted effort to understand each other more than we do at present. We can celebrate each others’ past achievements, and encourage each other toward future glory.

But then again, we’re not exactly the same and never will be. Trying to compare Liverpool FC and football with Montreal Canadiens and hockey is like comparing English with French-Canadian. It just might not be possible to understand or appreciate each other’s point of view any more than we can understand people who speak a different language and come from a completely different cultural background. Perhaps instead it is best if we celebrate our differences from each other and take pride in our uniqueness. “Vive le Différence”, eh?

Thank-you to fellow LFC Vancouver member Andy Neumann, and others, who assisted in the preparation of this article. A few facts and pieces of information would be incorrect if not for their superior knowledge of our national pastime.

What do you think? Give Keith your comments at keith [at] lfcvancouver.com.

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 01 March 07.

After the heroics in Spain last week I was slightly concerned about the game against Sheffield Utd. In recent seasons Liverpool have been notorious for being inconsistent, often following big wins in the Champions League with a defeat in the Premiership to ‘lesser’ opposition. However this time I had no reason to fear as we strolled to a very comfortable victory. Two first half penalties from Robbie Fowler and a goal each for Sami Hyypia and Steven Gerrard sealed a nice four-nil win for The Reds.

When I saw the starting line-up my fears weren’t exactly eased when I saw seven changes from the previous game against Barcelona. There was always going to be some changes to rest important players with us playing Man Utd next Saturday followed three days later with the return leg against Barcelona. Jerzy Dudek replaced Pepe Reina in goal, as Pepe’s wife was giving birth, and Hyypia came back in central defence. Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzales started on the wings and Peter Crouch started up front alongside Fowler.

Before I left my apartment on Saturday morning I quickly checked the team-sheet online and I had to rub my eyes and take a second look. Was I still half asleep or had Rafa really decided to play Dudek for the first time in the league this season? After conceding nine goals in his last two appearances (both against Arsenal) I wasn’t feeling very confidant about this decision. It seemed a strange inclusion to the team at such a crucial stage of the season. However Jerzy proved me wrong with a fine and assured performance. He never looked in any trouble throughout the game and on the couple of occasions he was called on to do anything he came through great with a couple of excellent saves.

Fowler starting the game was definitely the most exciting addition to the side for me. The Growler was making only his second Premiership start of the season, both times against the same opposition. He has scored three league goals this season, all of them against Sheffield United and all of them have been penalties. I’d need to check the statistics for confirmation but I believe the last Liverpool player to score three penalties against one team in a single season was Jan Molby against Coventry City back in 1986/1987. The difference then was that Molby’s three penalties all came in the same game! After the second penalty today, I spent the rest of the game hoping that Robbie would score a hat-trick. Unfortunately the two half chances he had were wasted thanks to a terrible first touch, coupled with a lack of pace. The old Robbie would have gobbled these up with ease and it was hard for me to see this as I’m a massive Fowler fanatic. However the two penalties were both slotted away fantastically and his pass to Gerrard for the fourth goal was absolutely sublime. I believe that Fowler still shows ability at the top level and given more games I still think he would score as many goals, if not more than, all of our other strikers. He may not be the same player as six years ago but he is still ‘God’.

It was interesting to hear what Rafa had to say after the game with regards to Robbie Fowler. Rafa called him the best finisher at the club and went on to say, “If he can score goals we shall see. He’s a really good finisher, the best we have. Finishing, he’s really good. If he’s not with us next season, we’ll need to look for another one like him.” Like most others, I had assumed that the signing of Ukranian striker Andriy Voronin, on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen, had sealed the end for Fowler at Anfield. However Rafa’s comments have now given us all hope that the Growler might get another contract. Personally I would give Robbie another season and forget about Voronin. I’m not being biased when I say that, I just personally believe that Fowler has more to offer even if he is four years older than the Ukranian. Voronin’s goal scoring record is nothing special whereas I feel confidant that given a decent amount of time on the pitch Fowler can still be relied on when it really matters. If Fowler was to get another season we would have five strikers in the first team squad so we would assume that somebody would be surplus to requirements next season. This week Fowler has been linked with a move to America. Ex Red Steve Nicol who manages New England Revolution has been quoted as saying they’ve approached Robbie with an offer for next season. Robbie’s agent has responded by saying they’ve had no response and if no deal with Liverpool is forthcoming then a move to Dubai would be an option he would consider.

The situation with our strikers is going to be interesting over the next few months with a number of players linked with us. The latest rumour involves the possibility of Samuel Eto’o moving here from Barcelona in the summer. Peter Crouch has been linked with moves away with Newcastle and Spurs rumoured to want him but with his height he offers something the other strikers don’t. Rafa now has the budget to match his desires so it’s certainly going to be interesting to see how this one turns out over the coming months.

The most interesting addition to the team on Saturday came with Javier Mascherano making his Liverpool debut alongside Gerrard in central midfield. In my opinion he was the man of the match, he was absolutely brilliant. He was creative with his vision and passing and he all over the park making crucial tackles and interceptions. I have to admit I don’t remember him in the World Cup for Argentina so all I knew of him before he joined us was that he wasn’t very good for West Ham. Well I guess he must be happier at Liverpool because he looked better in the first five minutes than in every performance I saw him make for West Ham. I just wonder how he will fit in to the squad if Rafa does buy him permanently. I’ve heard he will cost us ten million pounds and that seems a lot of money to spend on a player who may be behind Alonso, Sissoko & Gerrard in the pecking order. I guess we will see what happens in the summer.

Up next for us is the visit of Man Utd in a lunchtime kick-off this Saturday. I expect there to be a number of changes to the team for that one with Reina, Agger, Alonso, Sissoko, Kuyt and Bellamy all possibly returning to the starting line-up. It is definitely going to be a tough game with Man Utd currently in red hot form but we are also playing well and have home advantage. I certainly can’t see us losing this one and I think it’ll be a close one. A lot will depend on how important Rafa sees this fixture as he may decide to rest some players for the second leg against Barcelona on the Tuesday. We all want to win this game in a big way. After all we still haven’t beaten Man Utd in the league since Houllier was manager. We beat them in the FA Cup last season but that represents our only victory over them since Rafa took over. So we really do owe them one this week. But on the flip side the Champions League game is massive, that competition now represents our final chance of winning a trophy this season. So the question of the day is, what’s more important beating Man Utd or Barcelona? It would be amazing if we can do both but Rafa is an intelligent man and will not take any risks on Saturday. The minimum target that Rafa has at the start of every season is to finish in the top four of the Premiership and win one trophy. Victory over Man Utd will be bittersweet if it came at the expense of losing to Barcelona. I can’t see us losing the tie to Barca after last week but they are an incredible side and we have to be prepared.

We’ll be watching the Man Utd game at a brand new venue on Saturday. We’ll be watching on a delay at 8am at the G Spot Sports Bar and Grill, on Granville St, downtown. Hope to see as many of you there as possible to really have a great atmosphere for this new venue. Get your voices ready and prepared for a good sing song & let’s roar on the Reds to victory over the Mancs! See you there.

What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed , 27 February 07.

I know what you might be thinking, something along the lines of “why Stan Collymore, he was a wanker”. Well that may be true but his performances on the pitch for Liverpool (especially in his first season) get no complaints from me. He scored thirty five goals in eighty one appearances over two years and he also set up a massive amount of goals for others too. In the two full seasons he was with us his strike partnership with Robbie Fowler was incredibly prolific. They scored over fifty goals between the two of them in both the 95/96 and 96/97 seasons. What would we give now for that sort of return from any of our strikers today? I’m not 100% certain that all four of our strikers combined have scored more than fifty goals between them so far this season.

Stan Collymore became a hot property in the mid nineties thanks to a stunning goal scoring record for Nottingham Forest of fifty goals in seventy one appearances. He was a big reason why they gained promotion to the Premiership and then he scored twenty five goals in the 94/95 season helping Forest finish third in the league.

He was signed by Roy Evans in the summer of 1995 for what was then a British record of 8.5 million pounds. I remember vividly when we signed Collymore, we had actually been in a battle with Everton for his signature and in the end Roy Evans had to pay what seemed a ridiculous amount at the time in order to secure his services. I was in London the day he signed and I remember it being the lead story on the radio in the car journey home back to Liverpool. I still recall my dad and I whooping with joy as we were both convinced that this would be the signing that proved we deserved to be back at the top again. This was only heightened after Stan’s debut at Anfield when he scored an absolute screamer against Sheffield Wednesday. Unfortunately he got injured in the next game but when he came back a few games later he scored an even better long range goal against Blackburn Rovers, who were the reigning Premiership Champions at the time.

Unfortunately around the same time we found out about his character as a person too. After he was dropped for Ian Rush, Colly gave an interview to a football magazine in which he slagged of Roy Evans, the club and the Liverpool backroom staff. This was a massive story at the time & dominated the back pages of the newspapers for about a week. To be honest at the time I really thought we should have gotten rid of him there and then. However he was able to move forward from then on after settling his difference’s with Evans, and ended up scoring quite prolifically for the rest of the season. His best moment in a red shirt also came that season in the famous 4 - 3 win against Newcastle when he scored two goals including the injury time winner in front of the Kop. I’ll never forget watching that game (and the other 4 - 3 the following season) in the spare room of my mum and dad’s house on a Monday night. It was an amazing game and fully deserved its title of ‘match of the decade’.

Unfortunately Stan’s second season wasn’t quite as successful as his first. It was obvious he wasn’t settling in, the fact that he continued to live in Cannock in the Midlands was a major reason for this. Despite pleas from Roy Evans, Stan refused to move closer to Liverpool and chose to commute every day. He was also known for being quite moody too, especially if things weren’t going his way. We now know that he suffers terribly with depression but back then this wasn’t public information and he just had a reputation for being a sulky git. He would go missing in away games and I know a lot of players found it difficult to get along with him. Robbie Fowler talks more about this in his autobiography.

Once Michael Owen started coming through Collymore was sold to his boyhood club, Aston Villa, for seven million pounds. Despite his reputation off the pitch he was actually quite a popular player on the Kop. At the end of what turned out to be his final game for Liverpool he went over to salute the fans in the Kop and even threw his boots into the crowd. My Uncle Marty actually caught one of the boots. See the enclosed pictures of the boot he caught. On the first picture you can see the grass still on the studs from the hallowed Anfield turf. In the second picture you can see that the boot has been stitched so these boots obviously meant a lot to him as he didn’t replace them when they ripped. What a fantastic souvenir!

After leaving Liverpool, Collymore’s career went slowly downhill. After three years and only fifteen goals for Aston Villa, he ended up having short stints at Leicester, Bradford and finally Real Oviedo in Spain. His spells at these final three clubs all followed a very similar pattern. He would start explosively (a goal from an overhead kick in his debut for Bradford stands out) and then would get involved in some sort of fight with management and then leave in controversial circumstances.

The last time I saw him was as an actor playing a footballer in the film ‘Basic Instinct 2’. Unfortunately Stan seems destined to be remembered for his off the field tabloid antics, such as wife beating and dogging, rather than anything he did as a footballer. This is a shame because Stan Collymore was a very gifted player who had a natural instinct for scoring goals and if he could have just curbed his temperament he could have been one of the greats.

Video Clip:
57 - Stan Collymore

What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.

It’s often been said that, “there’s no free lunch.” Some of you would respond, “Oh yeah? Well I’ve had a few free lunches courtesy of The Whitecaps, so that’s not true.” But, in fact those “free” lunches do come with a cost, and that is that they are hoping that all of us will become members of the KickStarters program.

But what does that involve? Well, to put it simply, KickStarters is a group of interested parties, all with the common aim of promoting the sport of soccer in Vancouver and throughout British Columbia. Part of that is naturally The Vancouver Whitecaps, and other parts include the efforts to build a new stadium, and to develop the sport from youth level all the way up to the professional ranks. There are several special events for KickStarters members during the season, which can include the lunches that we have so far enjoyed, meeting visiting players, and promotional events with Whitecaps sponsors.

Becoming a member of KickStarters is quite easy. Anybody who buys a season ticket to the Whitecaps can be a member, but LFC Vancouver members have been given a special offer from the Whitecaps. Normally, the season ticket requirement would be the “Gold” ($349) or “Platinum” ($449) level season tickets, each of which would automatically include a KickStarters membership. Our offer is that we can receive two memberships for each “Bronze” ($199) season ticket that is purchased through LFC Vancouver.

Information is included here to give more details about the bronze section for seating at Swangard Stadium. We can be allocated a block of seats in the bronze zone, so that we make up a Red section of LFC Vancouver members. Note that season ticket holders also have priority for special events which may include the visit of the LA Galaxy later this season, and also priority for seats at the new stadium once it is completed. Past events have included Real Madrid vs. DC United, and Whitecaps vs. Sunderland. One international friendly is included with the season ticket, with this year’s visiting team yet to be determined. Season tickets can be purchased between any number of members, with the individual game tickets divided up in any way that you please, but each season ticket will have no more than two KickStarter memberships included.

The Whitecaps season starts on April 21st, so if any members are interested in taking advantage of this offer then please let me know as soon as possible. If we don’t have enough members interested then we cannot take advantage of the special KickStarters offer, or the Red section in the seating area.

Contact Keith Perkins at keith [at] lfcvancouver.com.

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed , 01 February 07.

Scouser Tommy is a popular chant/song by the fans of Liverpool FC. It dates back to the 1960s when Bill Shankly was manager of the club, although it has been updated with an extra verse commemorating Ian Rush's four goals in a 5-0 victory over Everton in 1982. The first verses are to the tune of 'Red River Valley' the second part is to the tune of 'The Sash.'

Scouser Tommy.mp3

Lyrics:

Let me tell you the story of a poor boy
Who was sent far away from his home
To fight for his king and his country
And also the old folks back home

So they put him in a Highland division
Sent him off to a far foreign land
Where the flies swarm around in their thousands
And there's nothing to see but the sands

In a battle that started next morning
Under an Arabian sun
I remember that poor Scouser Tommy
Who was shot by an old Nazi gun

As he lay on the battle field dying dying dying
With the blood gushing out of his head (of his head)
As he lay on the battle field dying dying dying
These were the last words he said...

Oh... I am a Liverpudlian
I come from the Spion Kop
I like to sing, I like to shout
I go there quite a lot (every week)

We support the team that's dressed in Red
A team that we all know
A team that we call Liverpool
And to glory we will go

We've won the League, we've won the Cup
We've been to Europe too
We played the Toffees for a laugh
And we left them feeling blue - Five Nil!

One two
One two three
One two three four
Five nil!

Rush scored one
Rush scored two
Rush scored three
And Rush scored four! Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na

What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.

Submitted by LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 22 February 07.

'Craig Bellamy and John-Arne Riise putt on the style in the Nou Camp last night' - The Daily Star.

'He then teed-up Riise...' - The Daily Star.

'...and teed up a second for John Arne Riise' - The Daily Star.

'...all that was left was for Bellamy to tee up Riise' - The Guardian.

'Bellamy equalised with a 43rd-minute header before teeing up Riise...' - The Daily Mail.

'...dig them out of a European bunker' - The Daily Star.

'Rafael Benitez's decision to start Bellamy proved a master-stroke' - The Daily Telegraph.

'How fortunes swing' - The Daily Telegraph.

'It was a relatively short but powerful assault that was always likely to find a hole' - The Times.

'The Norwegian international overstruck his cross...Riise clearly chose the wrong club!' - The Daily Star.

'Weekend golfers will have recognised the error of using a nine-iron when a seven-iron would have been a better choice' - The Daily Mail.

'Riise over-clubbed his centre...' - The Daily Express.

'A case of using too lofty a club...' - The Daily Mail.

'Football's equivalent of sinking a hole in one...' - The Daily Mirror.

Swinging Headlines of the Day:

'Swing When You're Winning' - The Daily Mirror.

'Bellamy Back In The Swing' - The Daily Express.

'Bold Bellamy Swings It' - The Daily Mail.

'Bellamy And Riise Swing Into Action For Liverpool' - The Times.

'Bellamy And Riise Get In The Swing For Liverpool' - The Independent.

Mascherano: Reasons behind my Hammers exit - ESPN Soccernet

More here.

Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman may head back into the loan market for a new goalkeeper after Liverpool's David Martin was injured on his debut.

More here.

Voronin was at Gladbach until he was 21. He played 7 times (1) goal. His last two years there saw them relegated to the 2nd division and finish 5th there the following year. The year he left for Mainz Gladbach got promoted!

More here.

2 Erik Meijer - He’s big, he’s red, he’s off his f*****g head. Never has a song summed up a player so well.

More here.

Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler says he wants to stay a Red beyond the end of this season, and with Liverpool boss Rafael Benítez refusing to rule out an extension to his current contract there are strong hopes that the legend will be wearing our number nine shirt again next season.

More here.

In a legacy of great Anfield European nights, next Tuesday’s second leg tie against Barcelona could be up there with the most memorable nights of all.

More here.

Paraguayan centre-back Ronald Huth talks to liverpoolfc.tv about settling into life in England and his surprise at joining the Reds.

More here.

IT says a lot about the impact Rafael Benitez has made at Liverpool that he can send out a weakened side against their fiercest rivals and not get stick for it.

More here.

Are Liverpool looking to bring Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o to Anfield in the summer? According to many reports this morning they are.

More here.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION coach Steven Nicol claims to have held discussions with former Liverpool team-mate Robbie Fowler about bringing the striker to the USA.

More here.

YNWA/JFT 96,
Andy Neumann

Standings as of 02 March 07. No change from last week.

Rank	Member	Points
1	Ste	27
1	Kevin	27
3	Kevin	26
4	Lance	25
4	Mark Aston	25
6	Keith	21
7	Andy	18
8	Glenn Whyte	10
9	Quentin	5
9	Chris Cole	5
11	Glenn Whitt.	1

To enter the members contest see the rules below.

RULES:

• Only open to paid LFC Vancouver Members.
• You list the names of the players you think will start the next LFC match.
• You must submit your list to lfcvancouver [at] gmail.com at least 12 hours before kick-off.
• This contest will include every match that LFC plays this season. Starting with Blackburn.
• The member(s) that correctly guess the starting XI will be awarded 5 points.
• At the end of the season the player with the most points will win the prize.
• What is the prize? It is a surprise!
• The standings will be included in each week’s newsletter.

Scoring System:

• 11 Correct picks = 5 points.
• 10 Correct picks = 3 points.
• 9 Correct picks = 1 point.
• 0-8 Correct picks = 0 points.

YNWA/JFT 96,

Andy Neumann