A few weeks ago, we sent out a notice explaining our reasoning for staying at LSPH for the remainder of the season, and that no matter what some individual members may feel about the venue that the most important consideration is that we all stick together and make the most of it.

We were somewhat taken aback by the positive and encouraging comments that we received. First of all, thanks to those of you who responded – we don’t know what you think unless you let us know! I’ll mention a few of the points that were made without identifying who said what (you know who you are, so let’s leave it at that).

The most common opinion was “… it doesn’t make any difference to me where we meet, just let me know where and when…” Another member put it very bluntly…” if I have Reds fans with me I’ll watch the game in a shed with holes in the roof … “Most surprising of all was that after mentioning that there had been some complaints about Library Square in terms of prices, quality, and service, there were some comments of the form “… a great place to watch…” “… seems like an ideal venue…” and so on. One more comment was “… any idea if you plan to keep the new venue within the downtown core? …” The answer to the last point is a definite maybe. Allow us to explain a little more fully.

We pointed out that it took some effort to find a suitable home venue in the first place, and so we would not think about going through all of that again unless we had some good reasons to do so. The main requirement for any venue to be considered is for as many members as possible to be able to watch as many games as possible. After that, every other consideration is a distant second. Library Square is easy to get to as it is in a central location, there’s ample parking in the area, and skytrain is only a few blocks away. It’s also handy for people who work downtown to be able to take their (slightly extended) lunch break on Champions League match days and join us to watch The Mighty Reds in action. The ideal location is “just down the road from my place” but of course that’s not going to be possible for everybody. We’ll have to look at where our members are located and then see if we can find a central location that’s convenient for everyone. Having said that, it seems to us that we would be better off staying within the downtown core as this seems to be the most acceptable compromise for the majority. Again, let us know if you feel strongly about this either way otherwise we won’t know what the majority opinion is.

We still have one more game to watch for this season, and then after that we’ll start working on plans for the future. We’ll keep you informed as we go along and will ask for your feedback before we make any decisions. It’s sometimes a thankless task to be involved in the running of a club, and so I’d like to finish with one response that cheered us immensely. “…thanks for the hard work in putting together the club and giving us all an outlet to watch the greatest club on earth week in and week out…” Our response to that is: Thanks to all of you for becoming members and joining with us to cheer on The Reds to victory. It’s hard to believe how the club has grown over the space of two years. When Liverpool played Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final of 2005, there were three of us running in circles in a virtually empty pub in Coquitlam as the final whistle blew. When Liverpool played Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final of 2007 there were gazillions of us at Library Square lifting the roof off when Kuyt scored the deciding penalty that put us through to the final. Where would you rather be if given the choice of those two?

LFC Vancouver is sure to grow even stronger over the coming months as Liverpool continue to achieve success with Rafa and the new owners. As Rafa would say, “we have lots of possibilities” so let’s work toward making our club even bigger and better than it is now. See you all on Wednesday, YNWA,

Keith, Ste, Andy, (Kev is somewhere between Vancouver and Athens).

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 12 May 07.

Today a little piece of my heart was broken. I knew this day was going to come and I’ve been dreading it for a while. Even though I knew it was just wishful thinking, I still held out hope that this day would be postponed for one more year. Today it was announced that Robbie Fowler’s time as a Liverpool player is coming to an end in less than two weeks.

I have so many great memories of Robbie Fowler and watching Liverpool games will never be the same again for me. This season we haven’t seen as much of The Growler as I’d have liked but even when he was on the bench it was still exciting because it was still possible for him to come on and score. He may have lost some pace and injuries may have taken their toll but there is still no doubting his ability to find the goal from anywhere. Wherever he goes to next he still has plenty to offer at a decent level.

I still vividly remember the buzz and excitement when he exploded onto the scene back in September 1993. He scored on his debut against Fulham in the League Cup and then followed it up two weeks later with five goals in the second leg. In only his fifth first team game he smashed his first league hat-trick against Southampton and went on to score twelve goals in his first thirteen games. He finished his first season at Liverpool as the clubs top scorer with eighteen goals. Amazing fairytale stuff when you consider that Ian Rush was still a presence and Robbie was still a teenager.

There have been a number of young players in recent years who have had plenty of hype and had high profiles, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen are probably the two most notable. However nobody has even come close to matching what Robbie Fowler achieved in his first four seasons at Liverpool.

After a terrific first season he went on to score over thirty goals in each of his next three seasons. Within three years he had scored his first one hundred goals, with the hundredth coming in a game against Middlesbrough when he scored four. During these seasons he scored some very memorable goals that really stand out in my memory and I’m sure they do for you too.

There was the famous four minute hat-trick against Arsenal at Anfield in 1994. I remember another great hat-trick away at Aston Villa in 1996. This was another one where he scored pretty quickly at the start of the game. One of the goals is pretty famous, it’s the one where he nutmegged Steve Staunton with a back heel before smashing it in the top corner. That game was on Sky on a Sunday afternoon and I had stupidly booked a driving lesson at the same time as the game. Fortunately my instructor was fifteen minutes late so I didn’t miss the Fowler blitz! When I told my driving instructor, who was an Evertonian, what had just happened, he had to come into the house and see the score with his own eyes!

I think my favourite Fowler goals during his early days, are the two stunners he scored against Man Utd at Old Trafford in 1995. It was early in the season so Robbie still had the blonde hair from a summer holiday prank. Both goals were absolutely awesome and he beat Peter Schmeichel (the best goalie in the world at that time) from ridiculous angles. Unfortunately for Robbie this game was Eric Cantona’s comeback game after his eight month suspension for the scissor kick into the crowd. Cantona scored with a late penalty to make it 2 - 2 and it was the Frenchman who dominated the headlines afterwards so the two pearler’s from Fowler never got the attention they deserved.

It’s not just amazing goals that made Robbie Fowler so popular with the fans. It was also his propensity to be involved in controversial and often hilarious incidents. Probably the most famous of these would be the goal-line sniffing incident against Everton in 1999 after he’d scored his second goal of the game. This was in reference to the cocaine rumours that were extremely prevalent on Merseyside for many years, mostly spread by Everton fans. I wish I had a pound for every person in the late nineties I met who claimed to know somebody, usually a taxi driver or a relative, who had sworn they’d seen Fowler sneaking into the cubicles in nightclub bathrooms with mysterious white powder. I never really believed it was true (despite convincing arguments thrown at me) but the talk was so strong it really did cause a lot of hurt for Robbie and his family.

Houllier said afterwards in the press conference that Robbie did it as a tribute to Rigobert Song who brought a grass eating celebration from Cameroon. Houllier was laughed out of the press conference (while he himself was deadly serious) and in the papers the next day he was made into a joke. Houllier never forgave Fowler and in Robbie’s autobiography he says he’s been told that this was the moment Houllier considered him to be finished at Liverpool.

Other notable incidents include the moment he showed his arse to Graeme Le Saux of Chelsea just one week after the goal-line moment. There was history with Le Saux and Liverpool stemming from the previous season when he had a punch up in the Anfield tunnel with Paul Ince. Le Saux had given Robbie a few nasty elbows and as retaliation he began making suggestive comments about Le Saux’s sexuality. After Le Saux had complained, Fowler then bent over in a suggestive manner towards him as he went for a throw in and he was booked. Afterwards Robbie received a ban and a £32,000 fine by the F.A.

In 1997 after he had scored a goal in front of The Kop against S.K Brann in the Cup Winners Cup, Robbie celebrated by lifting his shirt to reveal a T-shirt showing support for the striking Liverpool dockers. It’s since been revealed the Fowler and Steve McManaman both contributed funds to the families of the dockers. Many of those dockers and their families were regulars at Anfield and it was this type of support from Robbie that made him God to the supporters. Amazingly he actually received a fine from UEFA for his actions in revealing the Dockers T-shirt.

Ironically that year, he also won a UEFA Fair Play award for admitting that he had not been fouled by David Seaman against Arsenal after a penalty had been given. After unsuccessfully trying to convince the referee to change his decision about the penalty Fowler took it tamely and Seaman saved, the ball rebounded however and Jason McAteer tucked it home.

After Gerard Houllier took charge of Liverpool, Robbie’s career went downhill. He had a knee ligament injury in 1998 that kept him out for the majority of the year. While he was out injured Michael Owen came to prominence and was showing signs of being the ‘new Fowler’ after a memorable World cup and a hatful of goals for The Reds. Houllier liked to play a counter attacking style that involved playing a lone striker with bags of pace. Unfortunately after he came back from his serious injury, Robbie had lost some of his pace and Houllier preferred to go with Owen and later Emile Heskey who were both a lot faster than him. In both Fowler’s and Owen’s autobiographies they reveal that Houllier told them they were both competing to partner Heskey who was the main man in Houllier’s opinion. Can you believe that? Houllier made some farcical decisions at times (substituting Hamman against Leverkusen) and trying to suggest the hard working but limited Heskey over two of our greatest ever strikers is just absurd.

Despite not getting along with Houllier, he was the team captain during the 2000/01 season while the club captain Jamie Redknapp was out injured for the entire season. This was the year we won the treble and it was definitely Fowler’s most successful under Houllier. Robbie scored in two of the finals. He scored a belter in the league Cup Final against Birmingham City. The commentary is memorable for that one by Clive Tyldesley: “Fowler’s hit, Fowlers goal”. He was a substitute during the 2001 FA Cup Final against Arsenal. This was the Owen show however with his two late goals to steal the cup from Arsenal who had dominated the first eighty minutes. Robbie almost added a third right the end when he went one on one with Seaman.

He was also a substitute for the UEFA Cup Final against Alaves in Dortmund but this time he came on and scored a cracker to make it 4 – 3. That was one of my favourite moments ever in football. I stood in the pub screaming “Fowler, Fowler, Fowler” for about thirty seconds, as my dad and other fellas came bursting out of the gents with piss on their pants after hearing the roars from the rest of the pub. It was great to see him lift another trophy that season, along with vice Captain Sami Hyypia.

The start of the 2001/02 season was littered with controversy and fights between Robbie and Houllier and Phil Thompson. It started badly at the Charity Shield when we beat Man Utd. The week before the game the players were practising penalties at Melwood. Phil Thompson was retrieving balls from the goal net when Robbie blasted one that just missed Thommo’s nose by inches. Thompson went beserk and laid into Robbie with his trademark foul language and temper. Houllier informed Robbie that he was dropped for the Charity Shield and wouldn’t play again until he apologised for the penalty incident. Robbie traveled to Cardiff with the rest of the team but ended up leaving before the end and making his own way home.

There was still time however for one more magic moment from The Growler when he scored a hat-trick away at Leicester City in his final full game for Liverpool. Just one month later he was sold to Leeds Utd for £11 million in November 2002. He stayed there for one and a half seasons. Injuries blighted his time there but he still managed to score fifteen goals in thirty one appearances. After Leeds Utd started selling off their big names due to debt, Robbie moved on to Man City where he once again struggled with injury and never really regained the form he showed at Anfield. The most notable moment in his first season with Man City was when he missed a last minute penalty that prevented them from qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

In January 2006 I had moved to Vancouver, Canada. I was at work one day when a text message came from my dad. That was the best text message I have ever received and I still have it on my phone today. The message reads: “Fowler has signed 4 Reds on a free till end of season! How gr8 is that finally a proven goal scorer!” I had no idea at the time that he was even rumoured to be coming back so this text took me completely by surprise. As soon as I read it, I rubbed my eyes and looked at it again, then I jumped out of my chair and began doing a weird form of Irish jig through my workplace in jubilation. When I got home and was able to check on the internet for clarification, I don’t think I stopped smiling for weeks!

He scored an overhead kick in front of The Kop on his first game back but unfortunately it was offside. He had another goal against Charlton ruled offside a few weeks later, although that one was a bad decision. He finally got his return goal, ironically against Fulham, and then he was flying for the rest of the season. He scored goals against, Blackburn, Bolton and Portsmouth, showing that his eye for goal was still there. He also seemed to be playing with a passion and fitness not displayed in years and all of this was enough for Rafa to offer him a one year contract for 2006/2007.

With the purchase of Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt for this season, Fowler hasn’t played very often but when he has played, he’s certainly made a terrific contribution to the team. So far he has scored seven goals this season, that’s only two less than Bellamy who has played a considerable amount more games than Robbie. I truly hope that he manages to get involved at some stage during the Champions League Final. Is it too much to dream that he’ll score the winning goal in his final game?

Video Clips:

• 100 PlayersWho Shook The Kop - 4
  
• The fastest ever Premiership hat-trick V Arsenal
  
• Robbie sniffs the goal line
  
• 5 classic Fowler goals against Man Utd

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

By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 18 May 07.

Avraham (Avi) Cohen only made a few appearances for Liverpool over two seasons, but he will be fondly remembered by those who were around the club at the time. He wasn’t one of the great Liverpool players to make it into the top 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, and neither was he included in the spoof 10 Players Who Shook The Kop (with laughter) featured on The Liverpool Way website. His transfer to Liverpool came in May of 1979 during Bob Paisley’s time as manager, and was signed for a fee of £200,000 from Israeli Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv. At the time, he was highly rated as the best all-round player of all the Israeli internationals, and was expected to perform well in a variety of positions. He was even described by some as “The Beckenbauer of the Middle East.”

His first appearance was in September 1979 as a midfield replacement for the injured Ray Kennedy in a match against Leeds United. It was far from a dream debut and showed that it was going to take some time for this international player to become familiar with the English game, and particularly with Liverpool’s methods. That resulted in him being put into the reserve side for six months, after which time it was decided that he may be ready to join the senior squad again. That was for the last home match of the season which turned out to be a memorable occasion, but not necessarily for the right reasons. In his total time at Liverpool, which was only for two seasons, Avi Cohen played in twenty games and scored two goals. That’s not a bad ratio for a defender, but one of those was an own goal!

In the last home match of the 1979-80 season, Liverpool could clinch the title with a win against Aston Villa; and Cohen was playing at left back in place of Alan Kennedy. The match was off to a great start when David Johnson opened the scoring after only three minutes. Then, with Aston Villa pushing forward, a shot from Villa’s Linton deflected off Cohen’s outstretched leg that was attempting to block the shot, and looped over Clemence into the net. Avi described his feelings at that moment saying, “I just wanted the ground to swallow me up.” Six minutes into the second half, Cohen ran onto a badly cleared ball and blasted it through a crowd of players into the Kop goal. The moment was immortalized by John Motson’s commentary, “Oh I say! At the same end he’s got one back!” Liverpool went on to win 4-1 and become champions for the twelfth time. Avi Cohen did not receive a medal though as he had not played in enough games that season.

His smooth passing and distribution of the ball, combined with an ability to read the game and anticipate play, as well as strength in the air and hard tackling, should have signalled the birth of a new star at Anfield. But, his lack of pace was enough to mean that he was mostly used to replace players who were out due to injury. At the start of the 1980-81 season, things were looking up as he went on a run of appearances, but as it turned out he only played in fourteen League matches.

One famous story about Avi Cohen concerns his problems with a new language. When he came in for training, he found that his peg was next to Kenny Dalglish’s. Avi repeatedly said to Kenny, “Me, you, same.” Kenny’s curiosity finally broke down his patience until he asked (in broad Glaswegian), “What do you mean by that?” Avi replied, “Kenny, you me same. Both learn English!”

The fact that Avi Cohen was an Israeli, and one of only a few foreign players in the English League, generated considerable interest from the press – especially in Israel. One time when Bob Paisley was in his office, the phone rang and Bob answered it. The caller said that he was a reporter from the Jewish Chronicle and wanted to know if Avi Cohen was orthodox. “Orthodox what?” replies Paisley, “Do you mean orthodox defender or midfielder?” “No” said the reporter, “Orthodox Jewish. If he is, he cannot play on Saturdays.” Paisley then said, “I’ve got half a dozen like that already!”

Avi Cohen’s contract was not renewed in 1981. It may have been the cold English winters or his wife’s homesickness that led to his return to Israel and Macabbi Tel Aviv in November of 1981 for a fee of £100,000. Avi’s total appearances amounted to 24 games, with one goal, and was part of the Charity Shield winning side in both 1979 and 1980. Six years later, he and his wife braved one more winter by going to Glasgow Rangers who at the time were managed by former team-mate Graeme Souness who obviously still thought highly of his abilities. After that single season in Scotland, he returned once again to Israel with Maccabi Netanya.

Avi Cohen’s international career spanned from 1976 to 1988, during which time he earned 52 caps and scored 3 goals (none of which came during his two seasons with Liverpool). The later stages of his playing days took him to Sheffield United, Huddersfield, and Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Since his return to Israel after retiring from playing, he has become the head of the players’ union. He also takes great pride in watching the development of his son Tamir, who first played in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth squad and senior squad, and is now a midfielder with Avi’s other Israel club Maccabi Netanya.

Looking back at Avi Cohen’s overall career, he may have only had a brief encounter with Liverpool, but it is one that many of us will remember – and remember with fondness.

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

Liverpool close in on Brazilian prodigy - ESPN Soccernet

Liverpool are on the verge of signing Brazil Under-20 captain Lucas Leiva. The 20-year-old midfielder had drawn the interest of a host of European clubs after some sparkling performances for Gremio in his homeland.

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Robbie Fowler has confirmed today that his contract at Liverpool will not be extended beyond this season.

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The Italian Job, released in British cinemas in 1969 became an instant cult hit. The movie, famed for its many car chases, crashes and stunts has grasped audience’s world wide. The film, a tale of a group of British mobsters, led by a criminal mastermind to steal gold bullion for Turin, Italy. Now Liverpool FC have staged their own spin off to this- The Greek Job.

More here.

Yesterday I asked: “Where have all the tickets gone, Rick?”

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UEFA today admitted the stadium chosen to host the Champions League final was “not designed for football.”

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RONNIE Moore wants to persuade Liverpool or Everton to add star quality to Tranmere's pre-season programme by playing a friendly at Prenton Park this summer.

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Mark Gonzalez admits he could be leaving Liverpool either permanently or on loan, after the Champions League Final.

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SURPRISE second ballot has made further Champions League tickets available to some Liverpool supporters.

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LIVERPOOL fans today confirmed they were the football banner kings of Europe.

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Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina will be fit for Wednesday's European Cup Final clash with AC Milan in Athens.

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The Athens Olympic Stadium was re-opened in July 2004 ready for the Olympic games later that year. It’s design is intended for athletics and hence why it’s 71,000 seater capacity has been reduced to 63,000 for the Champions League Final to accomodate the UEFA advertising boards.

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Robbie Fowler played his final league game at Anfield for Liverpool in the 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic on Sunday. Here's the best of the match action in pictures.

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Latest Reds acquisition Lucas Leiva has spoken of his imminent move to Anfield and revealed it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

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Out on loan Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse netted twice but still ended up on the losing side in Saturday night's French Cup Final.

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LIVERPOOLFC.TV SIGNS AN AGREEMENT WITH SHANGHAI BASED PREMIERGOALS LTD IN REFERENCE THE CLUBS WEB AND MOBILE RIGHTS FOR CHINA.

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In line with legislation which is due to come into force on 1st July 2007 Liverpool Football Club has issued the following statement.

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YNWA/JFT 96,
Andy Neumann

Standings as of 20 May 07.

Rank	Member	Points
1	Ste	43
2	Kevin	40
3	Lance	36
3	Dennis	36
5	Mark Aston	31
6	Andy	26
7	Keith	24
8	Glenn Whyte	10
9	Chris Cole	6
10	Quentin	5
11	Glenn Whitt.	3

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