By LFC Vancouver member Keith Perkins, December 4 2007.

Only a month ago, there was a mood of doom and gloom as Liverpool could only manage a goalless draw away against Blackburn. This came only a few days after a disappointing 1-1 draw at home with Arsenal and a loss to Besiktas in the Champions League. Results were inconsistent, we just could not break down stubborn opposition, and the press was full of the usual talk of a crisis at Anfield. How could this have happened so suddenly, especially after the bright start to the season up until the first international break in September?

In our first four Premier League fixtures, we scored eleven and only conceded two (both of which were penalties). We managed to pick up ten points out of a possible twelve, and so of course the future looked really bright. But, when we returned from that first international break, we went on a run of seven matches where we scored a mere six and conceded four, picking up a measly total of eleven points from a possible twenty one. Results in the Champions League were equally disappointing with only one point from the first three matches, and a goal deficit with two for and four against. It looked as though we were on our way out of Europe in the first round, which hasn?t happened since Gerard Houllier?s time. The entire season appeared to be falling apart in front of our eyes, which was all the more difficult to accept after such a great beginning. Goals just wouldn?t come and points were being dropped against supposedly lesser sides than us. But, there was at least a silver lining in the fact that after our first eleven matches we were still unbeaten, and were within a few points of the league leaders. That?s in stark contrast to the last few campaigns where we were effectively out of contention in the Premiership several weeks before this point in time. We had one of the lowest goals against totals, with six clean sheets, and we also had one of the best away records so far in the season which dispelled some of the fears of previous years. We also had some positive results in the League Cup, which put us into the quarter-finals, equalling last season?s progress in that competition. Some of us (a small minority as far as I can tell) were thinking that perhaps this so-called crisis wasn?t so bad after all, and we might be able to come out of this slump in form even stronger than ever.

That?s exactly what did happen, with a run of results that would be the envy of any club in Europe, never mind in England. In our last five matches - three in the Premier League and two in the Champions League - we have scored an amazing twenty one goals, while only conceding one. That?s four clean sheets out of five, a goal difference of plus twenty, and maximum points giving us a run of fourteen league games without defeat. We have the lowest goals against, second highest goals for, and equal best goal difference with league leaders Arsenal. We?re now being mentioned again as genuine title contenders, as well as being favourites to go through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Our 4-0 win over Bolton last Sunday put us in a fantastic position in the standings, with a week without any matches to be played and a few days time for some much needed rest to get ready for the month to come.

This coming Saturday begins a stretch of thirty days that will be the make-or-break for the rest of the season. We have a total of nine matches to be played over that time, six in the Premier League and one each for the three cup competitions. It all begins away at Reading on Saturday, December 8th, and is followed three days later away at Marseille for our crucial Champions League match on December 11th. Both of them are effectively must-wins as we don?t want to drop any more points in the Premiership, and of course we want to continue in Europe.

It?s often been pointed out that if you want to win the Premier League, then you have to have a respectable record against the big four. We?ve had to accept 1-1 draws at home to both Chelsea and Arsenal, and our opportunity to test ourselves against Manchester United comes up just five days after Marseille, on December 16th. We hope to be in buoyant mood when we return from France, and we have one more day of rest than United before we face them. But, they are already through in Europe and will be resting key players as they prepare for us. If we can win that one, then we will be equal on points with a better goal difference (assuming we both have equal results this coming weekend) plus a game in hand.

Our next fixture is another big one, with a trip to Stamford Bridge for our League Cup quarter-final match, which comes on December 19th, only three days after our date with United. It doesn?t get a lot easier after that, with the usual crammed fixture list over the Christmas and New Year period, where we have four Premier League matches in eleven days. That stretch begins and ends at home, against Portsmouth on December 22nd and Wigan on January 1st. In between those two we have trips to Derby on December 26th and Manchester City on December 30th. None of these should be considered as easy fixtures, and all of them are definite opportunities to pick up as many points as possible.

The usual outcome of this congestion in the fixture list is that the League table starts to take some definite shape by the end of the calendar year. It?s our chance to put some distance between us and the rest, and set the pattern for the remainder of the season. By the time that January comes, we will have already completed more than half the season (twenty out of thirty eight) and we?ll see who are the contenders and who are the pretenders. As it has often been pointed out, we have a reputation (backed up with a clear record) of finishing the season stronger than the rest. It?s therefore vital for us to have a good position in the Premier League to begin the New Year, where we can start to look down at who?s chasing us instead of the other way around.

One more very important match comes early in 2008, which is of course our first appearance in the FA Cup for this season on January 6th. As of today, we don?t know yet whether it will be a trip to Luton or to Nottingham Forest. That will be determined on December 11th (which is the same day as our Champions League decider). That?s something that we don?t have to be too concerned about for now; we can worry about that one when we get closer to it.

Speaking of worrying, there?s also a certain meeting that?s scheduled to take place on December 16th, that was looking so crucial to the club?s future a few days ago and has been all but forgotten in view of recent events and results. It could be a meeting of minds, or it could be a banging of heads. Let?s hope that all of those alleged differences of opinion between the various parties can be resolved satisfactorily, and that we can then move on and concentrate on what?s really important ? winning trophies.

It?s going to be a true test of our abilities and our strength of character over the next month. We really wouldn?t have it any other way, would we? It?s what separates the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, or more accurately the Champions from the also-rans. Right now we are one of the few clubs who can say that we are preparing for competition on four fronts - I hope we?re still saying that after this thirty day period comes to an end.

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

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed

Mark Wright was an excellent defender and the Liverpool club captain when they won the F.A. Cup in 1992. He was already an established England international when he arrived at Anfield, but never made quite as much of an impact as he perhaps could have due to long term injuries.

Mark was born in 1963 in Dorchester, near Oxford. Despite being born and raised in Southern England Mark has always had strong links to Merseyside through his father who was born and raised in Liverpool. Mark started his football career as a trainee at his local club Oxford United. He signed professional forms as a seventeen year old in 1980 but had to wait until the 1981/82 season to make his first team debut. He only played eleven games during that season but had made enough of a name for himself that he was signed by First Division side Southampton in March 1982.

Mark was voted the Southampton player of the year at the end of his first season during which he helped The Saints to finish in twelfth place. The following season 1983/84 was an even better one for both Southampton and Mark as he helped Southampton to finish in second place in the First Division behind the champions, Liverpool. Mark?s outstanding performances during that season also earned him his first call up to the full England side during a game against Wales in May 1984. In 1985/86 Mark helped Southampton to reach the semi finals of the F.A. Cup where they were beaten 2 ? 0 by Liverpool, with Ian Rush scoring both of the goals.

In 1987 Derby County paid £760,000 to take Mark to the Baseball Ground, this was a club record fee for Southampton at that time. This was Derby?s first season back in the First Division and they paid big money to bring in proven quality players such as Mark and his Southampton and England colleague Peter Shilton. Mark was made the team captain in his first season and helped them to retain the First Division status with two consecutive mid table finishes. During Marks third season they improved a lot and were to finish in fifth spot for 1988/89.

After that good season for The Rams things began to deteriorate with behind the scenes action taking the spotlight. The chairman Robert Maxwell decided to leave and the club owed him millions of pounds. This meant that their best players would need to be sold and in the summer of 1991 Mark and Dean Saunders were both sold to Liverpool for over two million pounds each.

Despite the turmoil behind the scenes at Derby, Mark had continued to put in excellent performances which were rewarded when he was called up to the England squad for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He was chosen to start at centre back ahead of Tony Adams who was struggling with injury. This definitely made up for Mark missing the previous World Cup in Mexico 1986 when he broke his leg just before the tournament. It was at Italia 90 when Mark scored his only goal for England. It came in a 1 ? 0 victory over Egypt with a great header from a Paul Gasgoigne free kick. This was a vitally important goal as England had drawn the opening two games against Ireland and Holland and needed to win to progress into the next round of the competition.

Liverpool originally tried to sign Mark after his superb performances at the 1990 World Cup. At the time Alan Hansen was coming to the end of his career and Mark was seen as being the perfect replacement for him. Mark wanted to sign for Kenny Dalglish but was persuaded by Robert Maxwell and Derby manager Arthur Cox to stay one more year with them. At the end of that year Derby were relegated and in debt so when Liverpool, and new boss Graeme Souness, came calling again Mark finally moved to Anfield for £2.2 million.

By the time Mark made his debut for Liverpool, Hansen had retired, Glenn Hysen was on his way out and Gary Gillespie was sold to Celtic. Therefore Liverpool was desperate for a quality player at centre back and Mark was seen as the perfect choice. Most people, including Souness himself, now believe that the players were changed too quickly. Mark Wright was clearly a quality signing but Julian Dicks, Neil Ruddock and Torben Piechnik never lived up to the heights that Hansen, Gillespie and Hysen had reached. Mark was injured in only his second game in a 2 ? 1 defeat away to Manchester City, but he soon bounced back and became a commanding presence in the side.

When Ronnie Whelan got injured during Mark?s first season, 1991/92, he was handed the captains arm band by Souness. This was one of the starting points for Souness losing the respect of a lot of the older players in the squad. The Liverpool tradition was that the captaincy would go to players who had been there the longest. The captain should have been somebody of the likes of Ian Rush, John Barnes or Steve Nicol. Just because Ronnie Whelan was injured there was no reason to strip him of the captaincy as somebody could have stepped in as vice-captain. Needless to say things were not good behind the scenes during this period.

Despite the team not playing well at this time Mark?s first season at Liverpool did end with probably his proudest moment in football when he lifted the F.A. Cup at Wembley. Liverpool defeated Sunderland 2 ? 0 in 1992 with goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush. Mark got into trouble after the game because he swore clearly and loudly as he lifted the trophy into the air. In a recent interview with the Liverpool FC website Mark described the moment;

?I remember getting into trouble, though, for something I said. I had to write so many letters of apology for what I said when I lifted the cup in the air! It was the Duchess of Kent who handed me the trophy and she was a lovely lady and she looked fantastic. She actually knew all of the players and all of their backgrounds. As she gave me the trophy I apologised to her for what I was about to say. [Wright swore as he lifted the trophy] She asked me what I was going to say. I got ribbed about it for years and the Duchess said to me: 'Well, you meant it didn't you!'?

Unfortunately after the F.A. Cup Final it was almost all downhill for Mark?s playing career. He got a serious injury during the 1992/93 season and lost his place to Piechnik and the captaincy to Rush. When Souness was sacked in 1994 Mark fell out of favor with the new boss Roy Evans. During pre-season in the summer of 1994 Mark & Julian Dicks were both left at home and publicly criticized by Roy Evans for having attitude problems. Evans then paid big money to sign Phil Babb and John Scales and the writing looked to be on the wall for Mark. He was suffering again with a serious Achilles injury problem but as he got fit again Mark worked extremely hard and was rewarded with a return to the side in March 1995 against Manchester United. Mark was awarded the man of the match that day as Liverpool won 2 ? 0 and he clearly won over Roy Evans. Unfortunately it wasn?t enough for him to make the squad for the 1995 League Cup Final victory over Bolton.

In the summer of 1995 John Scales was sold to Tottenham and Mark?s hard work was rewarded with a regular place back in the side. He went on to play forty one games in the 1995/96 season and earned a recall to the England squad for Euro 96. Unfortunately he was struck down by another injury and had to withdraw from the squad. This season was the last hurrah for Mark as a Liverpool player and he eventually had to retire in 1998 due to injury.

After his playing career ended Mark moved into a management career that has been littered with controversial and colorful moments. He began in 2000 with the Merseyside non-league side Southport. Mark left the club after just one season over a disagreement about whether the club should become professional or not. In 2001 he was back at Oxford Utd where he started his football career but this time it was as the manager. He was sacked after only a few months in December 2001. The official reason given was because the team was performing badly. However there was a far more sordid reason alleged throughout the press that he was actually sacked for racially abusing a black linesman.

Regardless of the dodgy headlines his departure from Oxford Utd had created, Mark was soon back in work as the manager of Chester City for the 2001/02 season. When he took over Chester City was struggling in the Conference Division but Mark did well to help them avoid relegation. The following season was a big improvement as they pushed for promotion before eventually losing a play-off semi final to Doncaster Rovers. Chester City was eventually promoted back into the Football League in 2004 by winning the Conference. Just two days before their first season back in League Two Mark resigned completely out of the blue. This time he was back in the newspapers because it was alleged he was conducting a love affair with the wife of one of his players.

His next managerial post was with Peterborough Utd in 2005 and at first everything went well. Then in January 2006 Mark was sacked and accused of making racist comments at a member of staff at the club. Mark denies this took place and a court case is currently pending. His most recent post was back at Chester City where he was sacked with just one game remaining of the 2006/07 season. At that point Chester City had won only three of the last twenty games. Despite the scandals that have followed Mark Wright since his departure from Liverpool, he remains a popular figure amongst fans. His terrific performances for the side during a bad period and his captaincy that led to an F.A. Cup victory led to him being voted at number 65 in the series ?100 Players Who Shook the Kop.?

Video clip of Mark Wright
YouTube: Mark Wright

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

Standings as of 01 November 07. (note: standings to be updated in the next week or so, sorry about the delay (Paul Gill, standing in for Andy))
Dennis and Pat both get points from the Carling Cup tie ... good job boys!

Rank	Member	Points
1	Dennis	21
2	Pat	17
3	Ste	14
4	Kevin	9
5	Keith	8
6	Dan	7
7	Richard	4
7	Glenn	4
9	Mark	3
10	Andy	1
10	Luvdeep	1
10	Chris	1
13	Blake	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