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LFC Vancouver Newsletter
You'll Never Walk Alone | Volume #3 - 02| 16 August 2007 |
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For the last edition of the newsletter check here.
For last year's archives, check here. Comments/feedback/anything is always welcome. The email for the newsletter is Andy [at] lfcvancouver.com.
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News and Notes
2007-2008 Membership With the season opener just around the corner, it is time for Vancouver reds to join the LFC Vancouver Supporters Club for the 2007-2008 season. You will find the membership form here, so please send in a $20 cheque to:
P.O. Box 78045 3295 Coast Meridian Rd. Port Coquitlam B.C. V3B 3N0
Members Please welcome the following new and returning members to LFC Vancouver; David Doherty, Angela Huxtable, Mokua Gichuru, Pauline Balshaw, George Sandhu, Lakhbir Rao, Ajit Birak, Matthew Grattidge, Sandeep Boughan, Karmen Lee ,Michael McMurtrie, Nigel Walton, Ian Hutchinson, Amelia Hutchinson, Jack Hutchinson, Katrina Butula, Scott Millward and Aleem Dhala.
LFC Vancouver Blog LFC Vancouver has started a blog for it's membership. LFC Vancouver members are encouraged to visit this blog to read what is new with the supporters club. You can view the blog by clicking the opinion link on the left side of the page. If you have anything to post, an opinion, an idea or an interesting LFC news items, please use this blog to tell everyone. This blog is open for all paid LFC Vancouver members and anyone can comment on a posted blog piece. If you want to participate and you are an LFC Vancouver member please email for an invite. You will be added to the list of members that can post.
LFC Vancouver Photos LFC Vancouver has updated it's photo page. The new site has added Kevin's trip to Athens and can be found by clicking the photos link on the left side of the page. If you would like to have your LFC photos added to the page, send them to me.
Tickets for Members There is a new development to report for any LFC Vancouver member looking for LFC tickets. Anyone requiring tickets for games at anfield this season will need their own fancard. In previous seasons they have let us use Kevin's fancard for buying tickets for our LFC Vancouver members, but as of september that will no longer be possible without a fancard for each member. Anyone who would like an application form forwarded them should visit http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/tickets/fancard.htm to download their own application form.
Guess the Starting XI Contest The new season means a new session of the Guess the Starting XI Contest. With the influx of new signings it will still be a challenge to read Rafa's mind; so you can test yourself against other LFC Vancouver members! Send your entries now!
LFC Vancouver Fantasy Football League Yahoo Fantasy Football is a fun way to compete with fellow Reds. Our Group name is LFC Vancouver, Group ID # is 15314 and the Group Password is (predictibly) lfcvancouver. Come join up with us!
LFC Vancouver on Facebook Facebook is a very popular social networking application that enables you to join groups and receive other information as well as connect with fellow local Reds. Here is a link to our LFC Vancouver Facebook group so feel free to join us there. If the link doesn't work, just do a search for LFC Vancouver under Groups and you'll find us.
Aston Villa v Liverpool - LFC Vancouver at The G Sport Photos of LFC Vancouver during the Aston Villa v Liverpool match on August 11, 2007.
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The Run Inn and LFC Vancouver Sponsorship
The Run Inn has an account with Adidas and can order numerous LFC licenced goods. You can find the LFC Catalog here. IN STOCK NOW:
RAIN JKT You can place an order with Chris Cole in person at LFC Vancouver matches, or by email at info [at] runinn.com.
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The G Sports Bar and Grill:
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Liverpool FC YouTube.com Video of the Week You can send comments or LFC videos to the following email address. YNWA/JFT 96,
Andy Neumann |
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Last Results
Aston Villa 1 - Liverpool 2
Toulouse 0 - Liverpool 1
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UPCOMING GAMES & EVENTS
Sunday August 19 - Liverpool v Chelsea (Premier League),
Saturday August 25 - Sunderland v Liverpool (Premier League),
Tuesday August 28 - Liverpool v Toulouse (Champions League),
Saturday September 1 - Liverpool v Derby (Premier League),
Saturday September 15 - Portsmouth v Liverpool (Premier League),
Saturday September 22 - Liverpool v Birmingham (Premier League),
Saturday September 29 - Wigan v Liverpool (Premier League),
Sunday October 07 - Liverpool v Tottenham (Premier League),
Saturday October 20 - Everton v Liverpool (Premier League),
Sunday October 28 - Liverpool v Arsenal (Premier League),
Saturday November 3 - Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool (Premier League),
Saturday November 10 - Liverpool v Fulham (Premier League),
Saturday November 24 - Newcastle United v Liverpool (Premier League), When any of the match information above is updated, an email will be sent to notify all of you.
If you can help out with the club in any way, let us know as we're happy to have helping hands.
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Article - So Long, It’s Been Good to Know You.
By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 13 August 07. Every summer we say goodbye to at least one or two players who for one reason or another move on to another club, or in very rare cases retire from the game altogether. This summer has seen what must be the largest exodus of players for some time, with no less than eight members of the first team squad departing for pastures new. That doesn’t include Danny Guthrie and Scott Carson, both of whom are gone on season-long loans.
In complete contrast, what can you say about Boudewijn “Bolo” Zenden? He came in on a free transfer from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2005, and only just managed to establish himself on the left wing when he suffered a serious knee injury that kept him out for the rest of the season. His luck didn’t improve too much after he returned and he suffered another serious knee injury in November of 2006 which required surgery. He was definitely not the most popular player in the squad, and was rumoured to be on his way out at the end of the season. He was back from injury in time to play in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea and gave outstanding performances in both legs. His coolness under pressure was demonstrated when he calmly stepped up and scored the first of the penalties that decided the match in Liverpool’s favour. It wasn’t enough for him to be kept on at Anfield, and he was allowed to leave on a free transfer to join Djibril Cisse at Marseille.
We had every reason to expect a great season from him for 2005-06, especially as he would want to press for his place for France ahead of the 2006 World Cup. He started out impressively, helping us win the UEFA Super Cup; but otherwise it was a very disappointing season, and it started to become obvious that his individual style didn’t fit Rafa’s. There was one more memorable performance for Liverpool left in him, which he produced in the FA Cup final against West Ham. His first goal, volleyed in from a Gerrard cross, was one of the best ever. He unfortunately broke his other leg in a warm up match for France shortly after, and was out of consideration for the World Cup. He should have been transferred out that summer, but the best that could be arranged under the circumstances was a loan deal with Olympique de Marseille, which finally became a permanent move (with a fee of £6million) this summer. To be honest, he’ll be remembered as much for his weird hairstyles as for his play on the field.
Another Houllier signing to leave this year was Florent Sinama-Pongolle. He was signed as a result of his impressive performances in 2001 in the French U-16 Championship and the winning U-17 World Cup squad that saw him named as player of the tournament. He appeared in several memorable matches for Liverpool including the crucial Champions League match against Olympiakos in 2004. He scored the first goal early in the second half, which set the tone for Liverpool to go on to get the two more goals needed to progress to the knock-out stage. He also played a key role in the League Cup quarter-final against Spurs; he scored a penalty to even the match at 1-1, and then scored another in the deciding shoot-out. The following season he was in another dramatic cup match as Liverpool suddenly found themselves 3-1 down to Luton in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. His two goals after coming on as a substitute helped Liverpool to prevail 5-3 and continue on all the way to the final. For all the drama and excitement, he didn’t appear to be in Rafa’s long term plans and he was loaned out to Blackburn for the balance of the 2005-06 season. Over that summer he arranged for a season-long loan with Recreativo Huelva which became permanent this summer, with Liverpool receiving a fee of £2.7million. It’s really a shame that he’s gone as he was something of a talisman, where if he scored in an exciting early round cup match we would go on to take the trophy.
The Champions League qualifier against Maccabi Haifa was also the competitive debut for Craig Bellamy, and like Gonzalez he scored in that game. He’d already put in an impressive showing in the pre-season, and came on as a substitute in the Charity Shield to set up Crouch for the winning goal against Chelsea. Rafa had signed Bellamy for his pace and his goal scoring ability, but he was off to a slow start in the Premier League and took until mid-October to score his first of the season against his old club Blackburn Rovers. It was several weeks later when he scored his next, with two against Wigan. By the end of the season he had managed a meagre seven goals in twenty seven appearances, including another one against a former club at St. James’s Park. But, surely the most memorable of the season came against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The squad were given some time to prepare in Portugal as they were already out of both domestic cups and had a gap in the fixture list. Bellamy allegedly clobbered John Arne Riise with a golf club, telling him to use his right foot instead of always relying on his left. The incident was reported as “The Nutter with the Putter” and while entertaining to some it was taken very seriously by Rafa (he fined both players). What was an even more amusing end to that story is that Bellamy scored the first goal to level the score with a powerful diving header, and celebrated by making a golf swing. That was even more enjoyable when we found out how much the bookies had lost by giving odds on precisely that occurring in the game. As if that wasn’t enough, after a poor defensive clearance by Barcelona, Bellamy took the loose ball and side-footed it over to Riise, who then calmly banged it into the net - using his right foot. Bellamy had a bit of a reputation as a wild man before coming to Anfield, but as a professed Liverpool supporter since boyhood, and a supposed determination to behave himself and not waste such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it was hoped that everything would work out for the best. Unfortunately it didn’t, and if the Portuguese golfing incident hadn’t already signalled the end of his days at Anfield, his lack of goals certainly did. Rafa obviously had other plans for the future that did not include Craig Bellamy. He was transferred to West Ham for £7.5million, which is at least a fair return on his roughly £7million fee to bring him in a year ago.
It’s all the more disappointing now that we didn’t have the opportunity to send our favourite Sangria Sipper off in style as we would have liked. His last match for Liverpool was back in January in the ill-fated League Cup quarter final against Arsenal when he came on as a substitute for the injured Mark Gonzalez. He was also injured in that match, damaging his knee ligaments and putting him out of action for the remainder of the season. I have to wonder how the Champions League final might have played out if he had been available. Of all the players to have left this summer on transfers, I’m going to miss little Luis the most. No matter what we may think individually of the players that have now moved on to other clubs, and in some cases other countries, we have to acknowledge that they were of a high enough quality to have been considered Liverpool players at one time, and each of them gave us reason to celebrate at various times. Sometimes a player joins a club and excels to become a legend, and sometimes a player fails to adapt either to the club or the league. It’s really a matter of finding the right fit on both sides, or it just doesn’t work. In those cases where it’s obvious that no amount of time will overcome the deficiencies, it’s best for all concerned – and especially for the club – that the player moves on. Players who are not performing and are not considered worthy of a place even on the bench can be a drain on the morale of the entire squad, and so the tough decision to part company must be made. It could be described as “addition by subtraction” or it could be called “strengthening the pack by culling the weak.” It’s all part of the natural order of professional football, and in the end we’ll be better off for it. Perhaps the best thing to do is to acknowledge the player’s service in the same diplomatic way that companies inform us of redundancies and say to each of them, “Thank you for your past contribution, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.” Or, more simply, “Thanks, and best of luck.” What do you think? Give Keith your comments at keith [at] lfcvancouver.com.
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Article - What A Great Start!
By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 12 August 07. All week I was buzzing with excitement waiting for the big game, waiting for the start of a new season. With our new signings looking more impressive than some of those in previous years I just couldn’t wait for the new season to begin.
As for the match itself I think we played terrific. Carragher was awesome in defence, unfortunate handball aside, making his usual great tackles and important clearances. Torres had a good Premiership debut, he looked sharp and really lively. His first touch is great and his movement is tremendous. He looks to have a good understanding with Kuyt which led to the own goal that gave us the lead. Riise had a good game on the left of midfield and with Arbeloa playing behind him it was nice to see him get forward without giving us all heart attacks. Gerrard looked good back in central midfield and he has to play there as much as possible, especially away from home. Ryan Babel had a phenomenal cameo near the end when he came off the bench and immediately got involved. He had two great shots and was causing murder for the Villa defence. Based on this and from what I’ve seen and heard of him previously, I’m very excited about Babel and it doesn’t look like he will need a lot of time to get used to playing in the Premiership.
The back of the net nearly came off and so did the ceiling in the G Sport!! It was one of the best free kicks I’ve ever seen, looped over the wall and flew into the top corner with unerring power and accuracy. What a difference from last season, we concede a late goal against the run of play, but instead of heads dropping, up steps Gerrard with a fantastic captain’s goal. It looks like he’s back to being a true leader again which is awesome news. Last season it took us until December to win on the road so it’s fantastic to do it in the opening game. It sets us up nicely for the chav’s next Sunday. With man Utd drawing on Sunday we are now two points ahead which just made the weekend even better.
If this is what it’s going to be like all season then I couldn’t be more excited. I can’t wait for the big game on Sunday and hopefully John Terry will still be injured. Whatever side Chel$ki put out I’m confidant that if we play as well as we did at Villa then the result could be the same as last season. I also fancy Torres to open up his Premiership account too. I want to finish this week by extending a big welcome to all of our new members and a big thanks to all of you who’ve rejoined this season. You guys help to make the supporters club as special as it is and everybody who came along to the G Sport on Saturday made it a very memorable occasion. You’ll Never Walk Alone. What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.
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Article - Andriy Voronin – Vora Great Signing!
By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 15 August 07. With Ukranian striker Andriy Voronin scoring his first competitive goal for Liverpool today, it felt appropriate for me to take a look at his performances so far and think about how he will fit into the side this season.
When the club announced towards the end of last season that Robbie Fowler would be leaving the club I immediately thought that Voronin would replace him as a squad player. Once it became clear that Rafa was looking for a top class striker, with Torres and Eto being the two favourites, I just assumed that Voronin would play mostly in cup games and as an occasional substitute. With the club record signing of Torres the pressure was then placed on the rest of our strikers, Kuyt, Crouch and Voronin. Despite Rafa’s rotation policy I find it hard to believe that after spending twenty million pounds Rafa won’t play Torres in the majority of games.
The player that impressed me the most in pre-season was Voronin and it came as no surprise when he was declared as the ‘most impressive player in pre-season by Liverpool fans’ on the clubs official website. In a poll conducted by the site he had 62% of the votes which sounds even more impressive next to the 6.6% that Pennant received in second place.
He made his Premiership debut against Aston Villa on Saturday when he came on to replace Torres in the 78th minute. He wasn’t on the pitch long enough to make any significant impact on the game but you could tell in every touch that he will be great in the English game. His passing and positional play was tremendous and he was involved in the superb passing move that led to the free-kick that Gerrard scored from. Against Toulouse in the Champions League qualifier he had yet another good game when he was in the starting line-up. A decent performance was capped with a phenomenal goal just before half time to seal the away victory. The goal was absolutely sensational; he controlled the ball beautifully with his chest in a way that took the defender away and created space for himself before unleashing a rocket shot from twenty five yards that flew into the top corner. I think it’s fair to say that Voronin has so far been the nicest surprise so far this season. I wasn’t expecting much more than a squad player but now I can see him being extremely important for us in all competitions. He is strong, fast, clearly has a great technique for scoring goals and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him involved against Chelsea on Sunday. Torres and Kuyt seem to have a good understanding together so far but my mouth is watering at the prospect of seeing a combination of Voronin and Torres. Let’s also not forget Crouch who was our top scorer last season and with John Terry injured he could be very useful against Chelsea. Whichever striking pairing Rafa decides to go with I’ll be happy on the evidence I’ve seen so far. With Gerrard playing more often in midfield and able to make runs on goal I think that the problem we had in scoring goals last season will not be an issue during this campaign. I’m still trying not to get carried away but it’s getting more difficult with each game and if we win on Saturday don’t be afraid of the man in red dancing on the tables, it’ll just be me! What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.
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Article - Ex Red of the Week – Volume 18: Larry Lloyd – Timing is Everything By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 20 June 07.
Whenever a player leaves a club, there’s always a certain amount of concern that he may come back to haunt his former employers. That is definitely the case with Larry Lloyd, who ended a fairly short but quite successful career with Liverpool, and then went on to find even greater glory elsewhere, including several successes against his former club. Laurence (Larry) Valentine Lloyd was born on October 6th, 1948, in Bristol England. In 1967 he was signed by his hometown club Bristol Rovers, where he made forty three appearances over two seasons. Then, in April of 1969, along came an offer from Bill Shankly, who was looking for a number of replacements for his ageing squad. His first season was spent mostly in the reserves, learning The Liverpool Way, and making a few appearances in place of Ron Yeats. Shankly had seen enough qualities in twenty-one-year-old Larry Lloyd’s play, especially his tackling and aerial strength, that he easily tagged him as an ideal partner for Tommy Smith in the heart of defence, after it was decided that it was time for Ron Yeats (and many others) to move on. He was also noted for his ability to take possession at the back, and quickly identify the best way forward into attack. His skill at distributing the ball gave confidence to his team-mates to start pushing forward as soon as he had it on his trusted left foot.
The partnership of Larry Lloyd and Tommy Smith was regarded as one of the hardest central defensive pairs in the league at that time. Alf Ramsey recognised Lloyd’s physical strength and work ethic, and invited him to make his international debut against Wales, just a few days after the FA Cup defeat, on May 19th, 1971. That was to be the first of only four full caps for England, added to his eight caps for the Under-23 side.
As Bob Paisley took over from Bill Shankly, Phil Thompson was the preferred choice in Paisley’s more “continental” side, and Larry Lloyd became surplus to requirements. It was a sad day in August of that year when he was sold to Coventry City at the age of twenty six. At that time Larry Lloyd should have been looking forward to more success with Liverpool, and it was considered to be the end of his successful years as he was perceived to be dropping down a level. At the very least, he could be considered to have been a faithful servant to the club over the five years that he played, and that he was well worth the money as he only cost £50,000 and was sold for £225,000.
Those medals must have seemed like a good way to make up for the loss of his place at Liverpool, where he might have been picking up League, UEFA Cup, and European Cup medals. But that was not the end of his medal haul by any means. The following season, Larry Lloyd and Forest started off as they meant to continue with a win in the Charity Shield. Their League win of the previous season meant that they would be playing in Europe for the 1978-79 season, and it must have seemed like it had been scripted that the first round of that European Cup competition had them drawn against two time defending champions Liverpool. Larry Lloyd helped his Forest team-mates to a 2-0 aggregate win over the Reds, and then went on to take Ol’ Big Ears home to Nottingham. As if that wasn’t enough success already, Forest repeated as 1979 League Cup champions. Larry Lloyd and Nottingham Forest retained the European Cup the following season, matching Liverpool’s record of two consecutive victories. By this time, there must have been a few questions as to how Liverpool had managed to let Larry leave. That was not quite the end of the story either. In the semi – final of the 1980 League Cup, Forest beat Liverpool over the two legs with a 2-1 aggregate score. Unfortunately for Larry, an injury kept him out of the final, where his team-mates lost out to Wolves. A surprising piece of trivia is that Larry Lloyd never played in a losing League Cup match while with Nottingham Forest. The 1980-81 season was to be the last for Larry Lloyd at Forest, as he went on to take a player-manager position with Wigan Athletic. After two years there, he took the manager’s job at Forest rival Notts. County for a season. He may have ended his playing career by this time, but his physical attitude to the game had not changed at all. After his first game in charge as manager, it was pointed out to him by a reporter that nine of the eleven players had been booked, and was asked what he had to say about this. Larry simply looked straight at the reporter and said, “Well, I’ll have to question the commitment of the other two.” His managerial career ended at the conclusion of his first season in charge, after which he went on to become a pundit with Nottingham radio station Century 106, covering Forest matches for several years. He was as abrasive as ever in that role, being heavily critical of Forest players and management. Since leaving that career behind, he has been living in Spain. For some players, a successful career with one club would be a dream come true. For Larry Lloyd, his unintentional timing of transfers allowed him to have two successful careers with two of Europe’s top clubs He also had the pleasure of winning several times against his former club, not letting them forget that it might have been a mistake to allow him to leave. What do you think? Give Keith your comments at keith [at] lfcvancouver.com.
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Contest Standings - Guess the Starting XI
Standings as of 16 August 07.
To enter the members contest see the rules below.
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Contest - Guess the Starting XI
RULES:
Scoring System:
YNWA/JFT 96, Andy Neumann
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Liverpool FC Banner of the WeekLiverpool FC fans are famous around the globe for their fierce wit and loyalty to the club. These traits are commonly showcased in the banners that appear at every Liverpool FC match; home or away. Each week the newsletter will showcase one of those banners.
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Andy Neumann | ||
LFC Vancouver
LFC Vancouver, | ||