By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 22 August 07.

"Michael Owen mark two" scores on his home debut.

I think that Liverpool played superbly on Sunday and it was possibly our best performance against Chelsea since Rafa has been in charge. We matched and even outplayed Chelsea in every department and I don’t even recall seeing Pepe Reina have to make a single save in open play. Fernando Torres had a superb game and his goal was simply awesome. Somebody remarked to me in the pub; “Michael Owen mark two”, and I have to agree with that on the evidence so far. I now believe that this squad is going to challenge right to the wire this season and we will be closer to first place than we have been in years.

The only things to spoil the occasion were Chelsea’s behaviour and the referee, Rob Styles performance. Almost as soon as we took the lead the Chelsea players were up to all their tricks. They were constantly harrying Rob Styles, and surrounding him in numbers trying to get their way. The players were diving all over the place and some of the tackles were almost criminal. At times they reminded me of Leeds Utd in the 1970’s.

Rafa and Jose meet after the final whistle.

After the match Jose Mourinho told the BBC reporters; “we know how to get a result.” By this he meant that Chelsea will do whatever it takes to get their own way, regardless of how moral this behaviour may be. Pretty pathetic stuff from the chosen one, I cannot stand that man and he just gets more annoying every time we play Chelsea. From the ridiculous comments that the better team lost when we batter them, to his actions in the 2005 League Cup Final when he gestured the Liverpool fans to shush after Gerrard’s own goal is there anybody in football more annoying? I hate the way Steven Gerrard defends him saying “he’s been a credit to English football”. Mourinho went on to say; “I think I have a naive team. They are naive because they are pure and they are clean. We don't have divers, we don't have violent people.” Rafa’s response was “If Chelsea are naive and pure then I'm Little Red Riding Hood!"

Rob Styles had a horrendous game and he has justifiably been suspended by the F.A and criticised heavily in the media. Most of his decisions were a disgrace, the confusion over whether Essien had received two yellow cards or not was a complete joke. At first I believed that Essien was shown two yellow cards, based on the way he reacted by putting his hands on his head like a condemned man. Afterwards I thought that the story about John Terry being given the first one was concocted to save face but after re-watching the incident on Match of the Day, I now see that Styles pointed at Terry. The question we need an answer to is; why did Styles show Terry the yellow card twice? It was an unnecessary confusion that just added to our annoyance over the whole game.

I’ve watched the penalty incident many times from various angles and I’m still scratching my head over what could possibly have made Styles give it. Steve Finnan barely even attempted to tackle Malouda and if any decision was to be made surely it was a free kick to Liverpool for the Frenchman’s ridiculous and awkward dive causing him to collide into Finnan. I don’t justify violence but when Jamie Carragher was screaming in Styles face I was so angry that I was silently willing Carra to plant one on him. Rob Styles appears to be the new Graeme Poll.

On Monday the F.A’s senior referee, Keith Hackett, was quick to apologise for the error and announce Styles suspension. Styles himself apologised to Rafa and the Liverpool players for his error. That’s all well and good but apologies don’t get us the 2 points we lost.

Finnan and Carragher in utter shock after the penatly decision.

I listened to Monday’s football phone in show on Radio Merseyside and the lines were filled with bitter Bluenosed Everton fans complaining about how the referees are biased towards the ‘top four’. The examples brought up included last weeks free kick against Aston Villa that led to the winning goal and the penalty against Sheffield Utd in the opening game of last season. Reading manager Steve Coppell was also alluding to this same thought on Match of the Day when he mentioned the favouritism the big clubs are shown in his opinion. While it’s definitely true that Man Utd seem to get a bit too many decisions at Old Trafford I’m not sure that these comments are really that true. Although I have to admit that Chelsea were given some pathetic decisions against us over the last few years. Two examples are the Tiago handball in the league game in January 2005 and the disallowed Dirk Kuyt goal in extra time during the Champions League semi final last season. Chelsea may also point to decisions going for us like the Luis Garcia winner in the 2005 Champions League semi final. However in that situation the alternative was a penalty for us and Petr Cech being sent off so I would say that the decision was a fair one for the referee to make. Besides we all know that be ball crossed the line anyway.

Maybe the answer to resolve bad decisions by referees is to introduce the video replays and goal line technology like they have in American sports. I understand all the arguments against it such as slowing down the games but if it was only used for the big decisions then it shouldn’t be a problem. With things like a clear goal or penalty not being given, maybe the technology should be used. Often these bad decisions can cost a team vital points as they chase the title, European places or try and avoid relegation. Maybe it’s best to just leave things as they are and have always been and just try and think that the decisions usually even themselves out over the course of a season. However there is a lot more on the line financially in the modern game and sometimes a bad decision can mean complete disaster for the side that is wronged. This debate will no doubt rage for a long time and may never actually be resolved one way or another.

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

By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, 21 August 07.

For some players, it’s a series of injuries that force them into a decision to retire from international football. For some others, it’s a series of insults that make them decide to call an end to their international career. For Jamie Carragher, it’s definitely the latter.

When you consider that Jamie’s total number of England appearances (34) is less than current England players like Phil Neville (56), Rio Ferdinand (59), or Ashley Cole (58), then you have to question the wisdom of the manager(s) who selected each squad. The supposed managerial wisdom is even more in question when considering recently retired players like Gareth Southgate (57), Sol Campbell (69), or Graeme LeSaux (36). Even then, that’s not the end of the mysterious reasoning. For all of those 34 appearances for his country, only 12 of them have been for a full ninety minutes. If that isn’t an insult to the man’s playing ability, then I don’t know what is.

Jamie Carragher began his England International career with an appearance as a substitute in a 1-1 draw against Hungary in a 1999 friendly. It should have marked the beginning of a memorable career, following a record number of caps at the Under-21 level (27, which was only recently broken by Scott Carson). His full debut came two years later against Holland in another friendly. It should have been an easy choice for him to be selected for the squad to travel to Japan/Korea for the 2002 World Cup, but an injury forced him out of contention (along with Steven Gerrard among others). A series of appearances in even more friendlies followed, and he rightly earned a place on the squad for Euro 2004 in Portugal. But, he did not see any playing time as other players such as Ledley King were chosen ahead of him. The story was almost repeated for the 2006 World Cup, but injuries to other players enabled him to finally see some playing time in a World Cup Final competition. His last appearance for Erikkson was as a substitute in the quarter-final against Portugal, brought on in the 118th minute with the match heading for penalties to decide the winner. Obviously Sven-Goran Erikkson had that in mind when he made the change, and sure enough Carra confidently stepped up to take one of the deciding kicks. He was so confident that he powered it easily past Pereira, but the referee insisted that he had not yet blown his whistle for the kick, and so it must be taken again. The re-taken kick was then saved, allowing Portugal to win on the next one.

It might have been purely coincidental, but Jamie seriously considered his retirement from international duty shortly after that disappointing result. However, after giving it some serious thought, he decided to continue at least for a while and to be available for the Euro 2008 qualifiers. It was thought that new manager Steve McCLaren might see the value in a player of Carragher’s abilities more than Erikkson did, but then again as McClaren was Erikkson’s assistant for six years or so, it isn’t surprising that the same attitude continued. Finally this July, various reports stated that Jamie Carragher had announced that he would be retiring from the England squad permanently, but would talk with the manager before making it official.

The mere hint that a player would effectively refuse to do his duty for his country set off a string of accusations over Carra’s commitment, with one pundit (Adrian Durham of TalkSport Radio) accusing him of “bottling it.” He went on to claim that he would have no problem saying precisely that to Jamie face-to-face when a caller asked him if he would, only to be shocked when Jamie himself called in to the show and suggested that he come around to Melwood to follow through with it. Mr. Durham politely declined the invitation.

To say that Carra is anything less than fully committed to the cause is ridiculous. He has shown time and time again that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win. Just thinking back to the finals at the end of each of the last three seasons, he could be seen playing through the pain of cramp without ever giving in and asking to be taken off. He gives it everything he has, and then some more.

When we say that Jamie Carragher is one of the best central defenders in Europe, we can say it confidently with the knowledge that as a key member of Liverpool’s back line he has achieved among the lowest goals against for the last two Premier League seasons. When you also consider that under two different managers over the last seven years (both of which are fewer than in his international career) he has earned winners medals in a European Cup, two FA Cups, two League cups, a UEFA Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, and two Charity Shields, as well as runners-up medals in a European Cup, a League Cup, and a Charity Shield, then there must be something in his ability that lets him keep his place in the side. If nothing else, he knows all about winning. In fact, his importance is underlined even more when we see that in spite of Rafa’s rotation policy, his name is one of the first on every team sheet for every game. He really is that important. The mystery is why neither Erikkson nor McClaren could see what was clearly obvious to Houllier and Benitez.

There were some pundits who suggested that he should continue to fight for a place in the squad, rather that walk away. But what they don’t seem to realise is that the battle has already been lost and it’s futile to continue. Jamie Carragher may well be the world’s best in our opinion, but in Steve McClaren’s mind he was always behind John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as centre-halves, and now has been pushed even further down the list behind Jonathon Woodgate and Ledley King. In the last match against Brazil, he started at right-back, but was replaced with Wes Brown (who is nothing more than a squad player with Manchester United). No matter how many times McClaren may say that he respects and highly regards Jamie Carragher, his actions tell a different tale. It’s only now with an injury crisis on his hands that McClaren talks about how, “Jamie has been a fantastic servant for England.” That’s simply too little too late, and not convincing given the recent choices made by the England manager.

Jamie finds himself in the company of a long list of Liverpool players who were eligible to play for England but not considered good enough for one reason or another. When Alf Ramsey became England manager prior to the 1966 World Cup, he selected left-back Gerry Byrne but did not give him any playing time in the finals. He earned a total of 2 caps. At the same time, Chris Lawler was a right-back who knew when to push forward into attack and score goals, but could only achieve four caps. Ian Callaghan was also selected for the 1966 World Cup Finals, but only played in one game. Ramsey was not inclined to use wingers, and so Callaghan was limited to four caps in his entire career. Later England managers were equally as bad or even worse in their failure to select Liverpool players. Among the limited number of appearances were those of Tommy Smith (1), Paul Walsh (3), Alan Kennedy (2), Alec Lindsay (4), Larry Lloyd (4), and amazingly Jimmy Case (0).

There comes a time in every player’s career when he has to look ahead to how many more years he can continue to perform at his highest level. That might mean playing a few less games in a season, or for players who are also members of a national team it may mean retiring from international play in order to concentrate on their club football. Jamie Carragher has decided that at age 29 the time is now. With no real prospect of being given a place after being snubbed so many times, it makes sense to walk away now rather than continue to be disappointed.

One of Jamie’s stated reasons for choosing to leave now is that he wants to concentrate on his Liverpool career, reasoning that retiring from England duty will likely extend his time at club level. This was also criticised by some commentators who were of the opinion that he should keep working toward that elusive place for his country before stepping down. To do so any earlier would be to leave without dignity, and considered unpatriotic to put club before country. That may be their opinion, but it just doesn’t make sense. Other players have called a supposedly early end to their international careers precisely out of the same sense of loyalty to their club. Alan Shearer retired at age 30 after Euro 2000 and continued to play for Newcastle until 2006. David Platt retired from England in 1996, and continued to play until 2001. Paul Scholes left after Euro 2004, and continues to contribute week in and week out for Manchester United. In comparison with those, Jamie is choosing precisely the right time - especially with his recent signing of a contract extension which will keep him at Anfield for years to come - and we’ll see the benefit of his decision to give his best performances for us.

Steve McClaren made one last appeal for Jamie to reconsider his decision last week with a visit to Melwood for a face-to-face meeting. There was no last minute change of mind, and so that’s it for Jamie Carragher’s England career. What a waste of talent. It’s too late for McClaren to say how valuable he is now, and just seems to be a desperate move by a manager who has very few options left. It’s easy to talk now about his value to his country, but the insults of the past selection decisions cannot be reversed. We may all dream of a team of Carraghers, but obviously England managers don’t.

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

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 20 August 07.

Scouse hard-man Steve McMahon was one of those rare players who combined toughness with superior skill. He was a very hard tackler but at the same time he had amazing grace on the ball, he could beat players and he also had one of the best shots from distance too. Steve also holds the distinction of being one of only two players to captain both Liverpool and Everton. The other player to do this was Andrew Hannah in the 1890’s.

Macca grew up in Halewood, Merseyside as a massive Everton fan and as a kid he was a ball boy at Goodison Park. He came up through the ranks at Everton and made his first team debut in a blue shirt in August 1980 just four days before his nineteenth birthday. His command of the midfield led to him being voted the supporters player of the year at the end of his first season and he was awarded the captaincy. After four seasons with Everton he decided to move on because his thirst for success wasn’t being met. Liverpool had been trying to sign him for a while but in May 1983 he decided to join Aston Villa so as not to upset the Bluenoses. Ironically Everton became successful almost immediately after McMahon left the club and went on to win a succession of trophies while he languished in mid table with Aston Villa.

After two seasons in the Midlands where he failed to settle, Steve finally joined Liverpool for £350,000 in September 1985 and in the process became Kenny Dalglish’s first signing. A tough tackler in midfield was something the team had sorely missed since Graeme Souness left in 1984 and he immediately settled into the heart of the midfield as a major part of the team that went on to win Liverpool’s first league and F.A Cup double. Steve’s first goal in a red shirt came in a famous 3 – 2 win in the derby at Goodison Park just a week after he signed. This was the game in which Kenny Dalglish scored an absolute cracker after just 20 seconds. In his first season Steve battled with Kevin Macdonald for his place and he was unfortunate not to be picked for the first ‘all Merseyside’ F.A. Cup Final in 1986 when he was left on the substitute bench in favour of Macdonald.

During the following season he made the number eleven shirt his own as Liverpool had a rare trophy-less season. However McMahon did have two personal highlights that season both occurring in the League Cup. He scored four goals in a 10 – 0 thrashing of Fulham and he made up for missing the F.A. Cup Final by started in the League Cup Final against Arsenal. Unfortunately we lost that game but Steve had a good game and set up Ian Rush for the opening goal. Interestingly this was the first game that Liverpool lost when Ian Rush had scored, and strangely lightning struck twice when it happened again against Norwich City the following week.

The 1987/88 season is regarded by many, including myself, as one of the best ever for Liverpool with some unbelievable performances. McMahon had possibly his best season in a red shirt scoring some stunning long range goals against Man Utd and Everton. He was also involved in one of my all time favourite moments which occurred against Arsenal at Anfield. During a goal scoring chance in front of the Kop the ball was cleared way by an Arsenal defender. Macca and Tony Adams both gave chase and McMahon got there first with his electric pace and trapped the ball on the touchline before running into the advertising boards. Before you could even finish blinking he managed to turn around and get the ball past the oncoming Adams and get into the box passing to Peter Beardsley who crossed for John Aldridge to slide in and tap it into the back of the net.

We also reached the F.A. Cup Final when we met Wimbledon who were only in their second ever season in the top division. A testament to how respected Steve was came from Wimbledon tough guy Vinnie Jones, who said in his autobiography that before the final he decided that if they “stopped McMahon, then Wimbledon would stop Liverpool from playing”. Jones absolutely belted McMahon in the opening minute of the game with a bone-crunching tackle to let him know the score. While Steve later said that this had nothing to do with the shocking result of the match, it has to be noted that he did have a poor game that day, as did the rest of the team.

In the build up to the final, McMahon sang/rapped the lead in his distinctive Scouse accent (with John Aldridge) on the cup final song ‘The Anfield Rap’ written by Craig Johnston. Also contained in the song was a line in which commentator Brian Moore suggested that England manager Bobby Robson should be playing McMahon as a regular.

After a great season for Liverpool there was widespread clamour in the press for him to play for England, which he finally did, making his debut against Israel in February 1988. He went on to play a part in the squad at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, helping England reach the semi-final stage.

The Hillsborough tragedy in 1989 affected us all deeply and Steve was personally affected due to him being a local lad. Along with the rest of the players he attended many funerals and offered comfort to the relatives of those who died. He was later criticised by Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough, because of his hard tackling in the replayed F.A. Cup semi final. Clough accused McMahon of insulting the memories of the victims. What he failed to understand was that because Steve is a Scouser it meant so much to him for Liverpool to reach the final that year as a tribute to the victims and was even more important as the opponents were to be Everton. Liverpool went on to win the F.A. Cup 3 – 2 in extra time in a thrilling game with McMahon setting up John Aldridge for the opening goal.

Steve was once again a regular in the side that won Liverpool’s most recent league championship in 1990. He also played a big part in the F.A. Cup semi final when we lost 4 – 3 to Crystal Palace. He scored an absolute cracker to put us into the lead at 3 – 2 and I still remember after that goal my dad (not the tallest fella) jumping so high into the air that his head actually made a small crack in the ceiling, causing plaster from the artex to land in a mess on the living room carpet! It was a very memorable moment and a very memorable game. What made the result so hard to understand was that earlier in the season we had demolished Crystal Palace in a league game 9 – 0, in what was Aldridge’s farewell appearance.

When Graeme Souness became manager in 1991, McMahon was one of the senior players who were wrongly and prematurely moved on from the club. He was sold to Man City for £900,000 on Christmas Eve 1991 and never properly replaced by Souness. He played 87 games over three seasons for Man City before accepting the player manager job at Swindon Town in 1994. Unfortunately when he took on the role Swindon were at the bottom of Division One (now The Championship) and he was unable to help them survive relegation. He was successful in his first full season in his first managerial role. In 1996 he guided Swindon to becoming Second Division (now First Division) champions and reaching the semi final of the League Cup. He was sacked in 1998 after losing a number of games early in the 1998/99 season.

His next job was as manager of Blackpool in 2000 and just like at Swindon, Blackpool were about to be relegated. In another parallel with his job at Swindon, Steve got Blackpool promoted back to Division Two via the play-offs in his first season. I remember watching that play-off final live when I was on holiday in Greece. I was really happy to see an Ex Red doing well and I remember the great scenes after th final whistle as Macca excitedly ran onto the pitch at the Millenium Stadium. Possibly his most famous moment when he was Blackpool manager came away from football when he punched his neighbour in the face during an argument at a barbecue. Unfortunately the neighbour turned out to be a copper and the resultant court case was all over the tabloids briefly.

He left Blackpool just before the end of the 2003/04 season after an argument over funds with the legendary chairman Owen Oysten. After a short spell as a pundit for the BBC and Sky, Steve was back in management again in early 2005. This time he was about as far away from a Northern seaside town as you can get when he became manager of Perth Glory FC in Australia. He was there less than twelve months after he fell out with the board and left the club in December 2005. He currently works as a pundit for ESPN Star Sports which broadcasts football all over Asia. He’s been there since February 2006 and recently extended his contract by a further three years.

Steve McMahon remains a big favourite amongst Liverpool fans for his guts and desire as well as his fabulous skills and memorable goals. This was reflected in his placing of number 42 in the ‘100 Players Who Shook The Kop’ series on the official Liverpool website.

Video Clip:
42 - Steve McMahon

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

Standings as of 23 August 07.

Rank	Member	Points
1	Dennis	7
2	Kevin	5
3	Ste	4
4	Andy	1
4	Keith	1
4	Pat	1
7	Glenn	0

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.
• 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