It was beautiful, exhilarating and dangerous… but it’s over.

We’ve all had those relationships. Perhaps when we were younger, first loves… whirlwinds of romance with a stunningly beautiful girl, who many say is too good for us. It’s something which we can concede to a point, but we also back ourselves and know that they’re the lucky ones too. We’re a catch. The sort of girls who are so beautiful and exciting and good in bed that they are; by definition; also a bit mental. But who cares about a bit of crazy when you’re having the time of your life?

Mad all night benders… hours within the throws of passion, she does things to you that you’ve never known before. Your mum hates her. She is beautiful to watch, you can’t take your eyes off her. No one can take their eyes off her… everyone wants her, but they don’t see the crazy. The crazy doesn’t affect them. It gets to the point where the crazy starts to outweigh the fun… the mental ‘episodes’ are getting to you… you begin to wonder whether it’s worth it?

Well Luis… it’s been amazing… it’s been beautiful, exhilarating, passionate and dangerous… but I fear it’s over. I think we need to go our separate ways.

The moment our Luis had a little nibble on the shoulder of Chiellini I pretty much shrugged my shoulders. The media, twitter and of course Evertonians pretty much combusted… but I just felt weary. I had a feeling of ‘oh here we go again.’ I was defensive of Suarez, but I was also not massively sympathetic. My feelings of support towards him didn’t exactly strengthen on the announcement of his punishment. Again I felt sorry for him… in my biased view I felt that the ban was overly harsh and particularly unfair to his club, MY club. When he bit a player in a Liverpool shirt, Uruguay didn’t suffer, but when he does it in a Uruguay shirt, Liverpool suffer? It doesn’t seem fair.

Then the transfer rumours re-surfaced… will Liverpool cut their losses? Barcelona begin to court him and Suarez suddenly turns on his heels and releases an apology with no mention of his club or the supporters he apparently feels so attached to. Our beautiful, crazy, fucked up girl is flirting. But fuck it… do we care? Have we had enough… is it time to move on?

I’m starting to think that when it comes to Luis Suarez, we remember the incredible whirlwind relationship that we’ve had, but be content that it’s coming to an end and look forward to a new dawn… one which is more stable, with just as many beautiful girls and incredible times. Just without the drama. 

RAOTL at 200 - Why we need fazines

(First published in issue 200 of Red All Over The Land. - May 2014)

Without wanting to be too sycophantic, I wanted to mark RAOTL’s 200th issue by talking about the fanzine itself. Reaching the milestone of 200 issues is such a wonderful achievement and something to be really celebrated.

I can’t remember exactly how my relationship with RAOTL first began, but it was about 17 years ago that as a young (and for some reason besotted Liverpool fan) my Dad decided to take me to my first game all the way from our home in Wiltshire. He had no affinity with the club, and we had no ties with the area, but for some reason I had chosen Liverpool as my club. Being an out of towner has always played on my mind, but a lot of my future life choices were consciously or subconsciously driven by the men in red. I ended up attending Liverpool University, and living in the city for 10 years.

Anyway, in those early days I began to get involved in the fledgling online community of Liverpool fans, creating my own fan site ‘The Anfield Shrine’ and writing articles for other fan sites. I assume that one of my early games I must also have picked up a copy of this very fanzine. My enjoyment of that first copy is for me why fanzines are so important. As a young lad not local to the city, Red All Over The Land as a fanzine was one of the first ‘unofficial’ sources Liverpool content that I consumed.

I think I've always had a slightly subversive side with a love of all things underground and non-corporate and that is exactly what attracted me to the concept of a fanzine. I love the fact that fanzines aren’t necessarily glossy, well art worked, slick productions - that is the beauty of them. In the world of modern, corporate football, they are one of the last bastions of individuality, humour and independent thinking. These days of course, the development of the internet has meant that there are countless independent fan blogs, websites and forums… and as much as I can enjoy those too, for me they are not enough. I would never want to see the death of the physical fanzine. Fanzines, and specifically RAOTL, are part of the match day experience for me. I don’t buy programmes, but a physical copy of a fanzine is something ingrained in and older school match day experience that true football fans still crave. Match days are all about flat lager in packed pubs, weaving through the crowd as you walk up to the ground… dodging discarded chip trays to keep a new pair of Adidas pristine, hearing the shout of ‘hat, scarf or a badge.’ That is a real match day experience, not the Sky Sports Ford Focus experience that we are fed on TV. Fanzines are very much part of that real, grassroots, honest experience that we are coming closer and closer to losing.

So I raise a glass to RAOTL on its 200th birthday, and especially the long suffering but fantastic and eternally committed editor JJP (Who was on the front cover of issue 1 Ed? Billy Liddell?) Praise has to also go to the likes of Andy Knott, John Mackin, all the match day sellers and everyone else who has contributed along the way. I urge us all… don’t let the fanzine die. Here’s to the next 200 issues.

You can subscribe to Red All Over The Land for next season on the website.

GUEST POST - Legacy - by Paul Grant

One of the new generation of Kopites leading the way these days with intelligent comment and loyal, passionate support, Paul Grant writes a guest post for The Anfield Shrine looking at what legacy our current side could leave behind... whatever happens this season..

As we our currently facing our biggest title challenge for 24 years, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on just how far we have come, not only in the past few months, but since Brendan Rodgers took to the throne in summer 2012. Without commenting my opinion on whether I think we will eventually win it or not I will take a look into the possibly legacy that Rodgers and our current squad can leave.

Despite having the wonderful presence of Kenny Dalglish leading us to our first trophy in 6 years and taking us to a FA cup final there was no denying that we finished in our worst league position for 50 years. Deep down I believe we all knew that it was time for a change in the hot seat, even if it meant sinking possibly lower. The owners were left with the daunting task finding us that man who would reshape our team from top to bottom in order to lead us success in years to come, that man was Brendan Rodgers.

Looking at Brendan’s previous track record there was certainly a sense of doubt, admittedly from myself also. Sacked after 22 games in charge of Reading, and despite leading Swansea to promotion to the Premier League there was whispers of him just simply inheriting Roberto Martinez’s side. We heard in the very first few weeks about how Brendan is going to take us not only back into the Champions League elite but hopefully lead us to a title challenge and by how we would do it playing an attractive possession style game, somewhat similar to his Swansea side who he lead to 11^th in his debut Premier League season.

In the early days, although it didn’t seem the results were going our way, we could certainly see the managers imprint on the team, shown through signings like Joe Allen, and despite only finishing 7^th in our first year with the new boss we knew that things would certainly be a lot brighter in years to come.

Fast forward 12 months, a lot has happened, on and off the pitch. We currently sit 4 games away from our first league title in 24 years, and whether we manage to pull it off or not, there is certainly no doubt that not only Liverpool fans, but football fans in general are amazed at the job Rodgers has done with Liverpool. Despite missing out on numerous transfers since his arrival he has managed to get 110% out of every single player on the pitch. Even one of the few tactical criticisms of Rodgers football about being too predictable has certainly been blown out the water. 5-3-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 diamond; we have seen it all this season and there is no doubt that it has worked well to our advantage, one perfect example of Rodgers influence on players is to look at Steven Gerrard.

“He’s over”, “His legs are gone”, “He’s a shade of the player he once was”, just a few comments I recall from the past few seasons about Steven Gerrard. Now sitting in his deeper, playmaker role for us leading us to an impeding 19^th title there is no doubt that Rodgers has not only improved him as a player overall but has probably extended his career for another 3 or so years.

Being of the younger generation of Kopites, I have grown up with Gerrard, in fact I attended my first Liverpool game not too long after his debut. There is no doubt for me that he is the greatest Liverpool player, admittedly it is hard to say this as I never grew up with the greats of Rush, Dalglish, Barnes, Souness, Keegan, Liddell etc. but I think most will agree it will certainly be hard to deny him of that title if he leads us to the championship.

Another example of Brendan’s terrific man management is his handling of the Luis Suarez situation. Around a year ago, I remember getting outside Anfield to read this confusion on my phone that Suarez had disgraced the club by biting Branislav Ivanovic’s arm. I was horrified, not only by the incident but the seemingly certain departure of the player. Again, fast forward 12 months, he has transformed his game and is now widely regarded as one of the best in the world, 29 league goals, despite missing the first 5 games through suspension and with 4 games still to play he has certainly sent shockwaves around the world, mainly to certain Premier League defenders.

There is always arguments about the legacy of players, who is determined as the greats, no doubt if Michael Owen and/or Fernando Torres would have stayed with us that they were certainly destined for legacy at the club but their departures have somewhat of a sour taste in our mouths, that is one reason why I really would love for us to win this league title. Not only would one of the greatest strikers in the world almost certainly be staying with us for at least another season but he would be propelled into Anfield greatness; and despite all his negatives there is no doubt that he brings many smiles around Merseyside and we hope it continues for years to come.

But regardless of how these next 4 games end up, there is no doubting the great job that Brendan Rodgers has done for our team over a relatively short time period, and hopefully continues to do. No doubting that Gerrard is one of the greatest players to wear the famous red shirt. No doubting that Suarez is one of the greatest strikers to play for us and is possibly one of the best in the world. We must not forget that, no matter how this season ends, but there are also no doubts that not only those 3, but the other players who have all chipped in with their bit this season will earn a place in our hearts for the rest of our lives.

Tweet Paul @PaulGrant94

---

Rodgers continues to talk a good game...

I am now wholeheartedly ashamed of my initial doubts about Brendan Rodgers considering the season we are having. If he brings us our first ever Premier League title and first league title for 24 years, I won't just eat my words, I'll write them on myself and run down Bold Street naked*.

With Liverpool fans not only starting to dream, but actually believe, Rodgers continues to impress me with the way he is handling the situation and talking up, and down, our chances. He is managing to keep everyone's feet on the ground while also instilling the confidence and belief in the players that has got us to where we are with 6 games to go.

A story that emerged today have particularly impressed me. Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas are two players that have been in the virtual Anfield wilderness this season, with no starts for Alberto and very little action for Aspas they are two players who most of us won't have given a thought to over the last few months. I'm sure many would expect them to depart in the summer. However, at this crucial time of the season Rodgers has decided to discuss them... their good attitudes, their attributes and their ability to contribute.

Why? Well I think it's a master-stroke.

Firstly, he is showing the man management skills that we hear so about and installing some confidence in two players who must be struggling with the fact they have offered so little in such an incredible season.

Secondly he is underlining the team and group mentality, in that we are all in this together... we win as a group and we lose as group, everyone has something to contribute, from the fans, to the starting eleven, to the fringe players.

Finally, as we enter the crucial final phase of the season, he is reminding two fringe players that their chance may yet come, in whatever guise. He is readying them to potentially make an impact and become heroes. Imagine... not that we want to, that Suarez or Sturridge get injured on Sunday against West Ham? Or we suffer injuries in midfield. Football is a cruel mistress, if by some strange occurrence either of these two players get thrown into the mix of a title challenge... Rodgers wants them to be ready to seize their moment. And so do we.

*I won't do that. No one would want to see that.

Tweet @AnfieldShrine

AnfieldShrine Awayday – St. Bloody Mary’s

I hadn’t been to an away game for years, I think my last being a glorious FA Cup trip to St. Andrews to see us hammer Birmingham City 7 nil. My away record overall doesn’t read quite so well, having witnessed, among others, a drab nil nil draw at Leicester City and losses to Bolton, Portsmouth and Southampton. The scene of that last embarrassment was our destination today. Having recently moved back south to Wiltshire, Southampton is now my closest premier league ground and with my Dad’s connections to Southampton and some Saturdays in the 70s spent at the old Dell, we had earmarked this away game as a potential one to get to. A speculative enquiry to the editor of this fine fanzine about any potential spare tickers bore fruit in the week leading up to the game.

As it turned out my Dad couldn’t make it, so I turned to one of my previous away day cohorts and fellow southerner, Joff. We all knew before this game that our record at St. Mary’s was not brilliant, add to that the fact Southampton are the only side to have beaten us at Anfield this season and a very capable team and it was clear that this was a huge game for us. As you may have noted from some of my previous columns, I am very much a reluctant pessimist and I’m still in a constant state of anticipation that our season will come crashing down around us at any moment. Given that mine and Joff’s away record is not the best, we set off with much excitement, but prepared for the worst. Our aim was to enjoy the away day experience that we’ve missed so much and the experience that makes for such a refreshing change compared to the sometimes clinical and staid modern football roadshow of a home game.

It was a beautiful morning and really felt like the start of spring. A cheap and relatively swift train journey from Salisbury found us in Southampton for around 2:30pm, by which point we had already consumed a relatively large amount of Jager, helped down with Red Rhino or some other Red Bull imitation and some accompanying Birra Moreti, just to add a touch of class to proceedings. Joff had cunningly smuggled said Jager in mini bottles of Vimto, in case any overly enthusiastic southern constabulary took affront to our public drinking. The plan would only fall down if for any reason a desperate mother asked for a refreshing swig of our Vimto for their thirsty child.

More glorious sunshine greeted us in Southampton and having gleaned from a few away guides and fellow travelling reds that Yates of all places was the ‘designated away pub’ we started walking up the hill in that direction. Knowing that the giant doormen on the Yates doors were unlikely to let us in with 2 or 3 glass bottles of premium lager and some ‘Vimto’ we decided to finish off the rest of our liquid picnic in the nearby park. It’s funny what an away day does to you, or allows you to do. If I found myself sat in a park downing makeshift Jagerbombs from plastic glasses acquired from a ‘Pumpkin’ train café, I’d start to have serious concerns around where my life was going, on an awayday however, it’s all part of the day and perfectly acceptable. Just don’t tell Thatcherites.

Yates hadn’t really started to liven up when we first arrived, and I completely understand the irony behind my declaration that it was ‘full of wools’ considering we were about as wool as it comes, but there was a definite feel that it was very much heavy with Southampton based Liverpool fans with no real sense of ‘atmosphere.’ There were even some normal Saturday afternoon shoppers / drinkers trying their best to enjoy their beloved Yates experienced and rubbery Hunters Chicken.

A highlight was probably one of the oldest DJs I’ve ever seen trying to make us feel at home by playing any remotely Liverpool related song, extremely loud, and drowning out any attempt at a song from Liverpool fans themselves. We were treated to everything from The Beatles, to The Zutons with some slightly odd versions of our terrace favourites thrown in.

As more and more reds piled in and more and more shit lager flowed the ‘atmosphere’ did begin to pick up and the songs soon got going. By about 4pm we were in full flow and bouncing around spilling our shit lager all over the place.

It was around this time that we realised we’d better think about heading up to the ground to meet JJP and get our tickets. It wasn’t much of a walk up to St. Mary’s, and to be honest, it was a bit of a blur.

We spotted JJP and his compatriots outside the away end, and shared introductions before heading in. It was great to see the Ed. after such a long time and I must thank him again for sorting out the tickets.

The atmosphere inside the ground was already building nicely, as you’d expect with thousands of scousers having a long trip down for a 5.30pm kick off and plenty of ‘ale time.’ By this stage my pessimism and nervousness had pretty much evaporated in vapour of Jager and Carlsberg.

Quarter of an hour in and that pessimism evaporated further as Suarez finished brilliantly from what initially looked like a lovely through ball from Sturidge, but in fact turned out to be quite a fortunate deflection off Fonte into Luis’ path. It’s bit of luck like that which you need to be successful, especially at places like St. Mary’s.  I know it’s a cliché but I think if you’re positive, luck does come your way.

The travelling Kop were rapturous and bounced to the stalwart Suarez song, but on the pitch Southampton weren’t going to just roll over as they spent the remainder of the half playing some nice stuff and knocking on our door. Lallana was unlucky not to draw them level as his clever shot rebounded off the post and Mignolet pulled off a brilliant diving save to deny Rodriguez.

Half-time was spent on a raucous concourse as ‘We are Liverpool…’ didn’t let up and nor did the flagrant disregard for the smoking ban… which even as a non-smoker I can’t help admire.

Sterling replaced Coutinho 10 minutes into the 2^nd half and made an immediate impact to slot in yet another Suarez assist. Then we felt we could relax a little and really enjoy ourselves and the scouse presence in St. Mary’s didn’t let up in terms of volume.

A great early evening was wrapped up as Gerrard dispatched his 90^th minute penalty with the sort of composure that we have become accustom to and there ended a genuinely fantastic result for Liverpool FC. 

I would agree with Rodgers that this could well have been up there with the Arsenal rout, not necessarily in performance or style but certainly in terms of importance and setting a marker.

The ‘we’re going to win the league’ chants were inevitable considering the immediate excitement, but as always I am trying to apply some restraint and realism.

As I write this, 2 weeks have passed without us playing again and we are now fast approaching the much anticipated trip to Old Trafford. I can appreciate and welcome talk from the likes of Fowler about really compounding Utd’s misery and we are in the unusual position, probably in my entire lifetime of going in to this game as favourites, which is always a danger. But we should be confident, no doubt.

I would rather we take the Mourinho approach and continue to play down our chances, and equally play up Utd’s threat… we don’t want any sort of complacency creeping in.

By the time you read this we’ll know the result… so let’s just hope my pessimism continues to be proved wrong. Whatever happens, we’re in for one hell of a ride before the end of the season and let’s just not forget how far we have come.

Tweet @AnfieldShrine

Arsenal Reflections - Part II

A few Arsenal reflections part II

Last week I penned a few reflections on the 5-1 drubbing of Arsenal at Anfield so I thought I’d put down a few Arsenal reflections take two: of the FA Cup clash at The Emirates yesterday.

I have to admit to not being able to follow the first half as closely as I’d have liked, firstly not being at the game itself and then secondly being on the road back from a family Christening. So Sturridge’s early chances and Arsenal’s subsequent first half goal were received through a pretty poor 5Live signal. However I think the first thing to note, is that anyone who thought this game was going to be anything like Anfield a week ago, is an idiot.

Arsenal were never going to be as poor as they were at Anfield, and having got a pretty miraculous three points at a sodden Craven Cottage in midweek, I couldn’t help feeling that perhaps today wouldn’t be our day. Football seems to move in those sorts of ways. And so it proved to be. Sturridge wasted the opportunity, or opportunities to give us another blistering start and I think that pretty much set the tone.

I can’t say that I’m all that disappointed, and I won’t be too hard on Sturridge. He has been immense this season and you can forgive him some slight fatigue. 

I was able to follow the 2^nd half properly in front of the TV and after going 2 nil down, we certainly rallied. We threatened more than Arsenal, and Fabianski was immense in keeping us out. The penalty was deserved and Gerrard dispatched it in the manner that we’ve come to expect. I have to praise Rodgers for a very positive substitution in bringing on Hendo for Cissokho, which very nearly had the impact intended. Although Joe Allen performed admirably and he clearly needs a bit more match time, I think it was pretty clear that we missed Henderson’s drive and work rate; which just underlines how far he has come and what a player he now is. I like Allen as a player and he seems like a good guy, but I wonder if he has the quality or presence to survive Rodger’s revolution in the long run.

Sturridge missed another great chance, which again compounded the fact it wasn’t going to be our day. There is no doubt that we should have had a 2^nd penalty, and I’ve yet to mention our good old friend Mr Webb… who had a completely shocker from a Liverpool point of view. It’s what we’ve come to expect.

We can certainly feel aggrieved, if not downright unlucky to not have progressed to the quarter finals, but all in all I don’t feel overly distraught. We are having an incredible season and we will have the odd off day and disappointing result. The FA Cup was a fantastic opportunity to bag some silverware this season, but now we have the chance to focus solely on the league; which is a luxury that most of the sides in the top 6 or 7 don’t have.

It’s Swansea next up at Anfield, and just like every game between now and the end of the season, it’s a massive one. We need to bounce back and ensure we pull further away in fourth. Isn’t it nice to be enjoying a season where at this stage of proceedings, a home game against Swansea has so much riding on it? Viva Rodgers, Viva la Revolution.

Tweet @AnfieldShrine

Reflections - Arsenal Aftermath

There has been plenty of jubilation, reflection and comment in the wake of what can only be described as our dreamlike result and performance yesterday against Arsenal, but I wanted to pen a few thoughts and reflections myself.

Having been a Liverpool fan for more or less 20 years I can't help but lean towards the pessimistic end of the spectrum most of the time. Don't get me wrong, I've been lucky enough to see more success and trophies than most supporters of clubs get to see in a lifetime, including a European Cup and not to mention a treble!

But equally, by Liverpool Football Club standards, the last 20 years will not be remembered as a glorious period, not when you compare them to the 20 years that went before. I've had to endure Man Utd dominance for just about my entire tenure as a red. So with that in mind, just when I dare to dream and see small green shoots of something special building at the club... I can't help but assume that it will all come crashing down at any moment.

Pre-Derby at Anfield 2014 I wasn't confident at all. Everton were looking the strongest they have for years, Martinez has them playing some great football and we had an injury list longer than a Leonard Cohen song (credit to The Thick of It for that joke). But I was proven wrong... in spectacular style.

At West Brom we dropped 2 points, no doubt about that... but strangely I was surprisingly sanguine. When you think about it, dropping points off the back of a terrible individual mistake, is actually easier to take than dropping points from a terrible performance. Individual errors will happen, we are all human and therefore in many ways you have to simply accept that occasionally luck will be against us and we may be punished by an individual error. It is actually harder to take that after all the preparation that Rodgers and his team put into setting the side up for a game, for the team to capitulate or simply not perform to the level we know they can. That hurts more.

So then it was Arsenal arriving at Anfield. It hasn't felt like we've had a good record against Arsenal for some time, and if I was a stats person, which I'm not, I expect they'd back my assumption up. So again I arrived at Anfield on the morning of Saturday the 8th of February, extremely hungover and certainly a little bit apprehensive. My thinking generally is... things are going well, too well. We'll come crashing down to earth sooner or later.

20 minutes in and I thought I was dreaming. My hangover had certainly evaporated at a rate of knots. We were quite simply breathtaking. Every single player (yes even Ally C) had an absolute stormer. It was an utter joy to witness. Just before the Derby I'd chatted with my compatriot about Coutinho and how I felt he had gone off the boil slightly and was perhaps losing interested in Liverpool FC... well how wrong could I have been? He was breathtaking against Arsenal, as was Sterling... Flanno, Henderson... everyone.

One criticism that has been levelled at Rodgers' Liverpool if any, was that we hadn't managed to beat the big sides yet, well that changed didn't it?

My mild indifference to Rodgers are the beginning of his reign has been well documented, and I don't think I was alone. The sheer length of time it took the Kop to sing his name with any gusto is surely testament to that. But now I am happy to say I am an absolute Rodgers convert... I'm starting to love the man, and so too is the Kop. One of my favourite moments of the Arsenal game, and there were many, was a period before half time when we kept possession with ease and knocked it around the back. The Kop simply applauded, warmly for 30 or 40 seconds. It wasn't loud chanting or even the tribal, fast clapping we do... it was an ovation, a round of applause in absolute appreciation of what we were witnessing. What we were witnessing, we all hope, and something I have never witnessed, was the Liverpool of old.

Having said that... I expect we'll go and lose to Fulham in midweek now. This pessimistic streak is hard to shake off....

@anfieldshrine

Facebook

The Anfield Shrine Column - Issue 194 RAOTL - Sterling Support

Originally published in print. Issue 193 of Red All Over The Land Fanzine

Sterling Support

I wanted to write an article in support of Raheem Sterling. To be honest, I’ve found it hard to motivate myself to do so… but I am determined, so here we go…

Image Courtesy of The Guardian

I should imagine like a lot of Liverpool fans at the moment, I currently see Sterling as a little bit of a frustration. He burst on to the scene as an extremely exciting and talented young player, only to be over-hyped and perhaps over-played before retreating to the doldrums of reserve team and U21 football – which in fairness, is where you’d expect most players of his age to be!

We are a strange bunch at times, us Liverpool fans. We pride ourselves on being different… being a supportive crowd, patient, with the ability to support a player in a red shirt whatever their age, nationality or path in football. Yet sometimes, we seem to let ourselves down and throw all of that out of the window. It seems that every now and then, a player comes along that Liverpool fans just don’t ‘take to.’ Deep down, we just don’t seem to LIKE them. Moses is another one of our current crop currently experiencing that very malaise. Although in Victor’s case, I'm inclined to say it’s justified.

Sterling’s rise to prominence and indeed promise was so fast that now we seem to be blaming him for not living up to his own hype. In reality, the position he finds himself in now, is a completely natural one. Having just turned 19 he is getting some valuable first team action, showing some promise and developing.

However, most of the Anfield crowd currently don’t seem to see it like that. We are expecting him to come out and score wonder goals, terrorise defences and beat 2 or 3 players every time he has the ball. It is no wonder that he is looking a bit hesitant.

But I think that there is something that lies deeper in our current frustration with him… I’m just not sure that we like him. Is it perhaps because after showing such initial promise we heard rumours of him falling into the trap of being an overpaid, over-hyped and not highly intelligent young footballer… getting himself into scrapes with the police and the odd scouse hood rat? It’s not the sort of behaviour we like to see from our young players – we’re much more forgiving of a hard-working and seemingly ‘nice’ lad like Henderson. Is it also perhaps that he’s a Londoner? And there’s just something about that which we can’t take to. Is it also perhaps because he runs a little bit like a camp duck… and deep down we just suspect that he doesn’t fancy it in a 50/50? We assume he’s lightweight and easy to shove off the ball. We’re not convinced he tracks back… we’re not sure how much he REALLY cares.

Who knows, maybe we’re right? You can’t escape he does run strangely... and he hasn’t yet got the bullish strength and centre of gravity of Coutinho. But let’s not forget, Coutinho is a good 2 or 3 years older and with much more experience.

Sterling is showing some promising signs again; let’s not crush the poor lad through our slightly lazy prejudices and wild assumptions. They may well all be right… but as Liverpool fans, it’s not in our nature not to give a player a chance and one thing is for certain, if we don’t get off his back a bit… he certainly won’t turn into the player we all hope he can be. 

Red All Over The Land - Issue 194

Issue 194 of Red All Over The Land will be out for the Cardiff game at Anfield next week (the 21st) - featuring a piece from me on the support of a certain Raheem Sterling. 

Pick up a copy for only £2!

To subscribe or contribute to RAOTL contact redallovertheland@gmail.com

The Anfield Shrine Column - Issue 193 of RAOTL

Originally published in print. Issue 193 of Red All Over The Land Fanzine

A last minute deadline day effort again this issue… after missing the last one, I was determined to pen a few words. The Ed’s new policy of shorter runs of more frequent issues is a good one in my book, but it certainly pushes an over worked, lazy bastard like myself.

Anyway… to the job in hand. It feels like a long time since I was at Anfield, having missed Fulham for a little trip to Belfast and the good old international break cropping up again as well. After a massively thrilling derby we’re still sitting pretty in 2^nd place. I don’t think anyone predicted that as Christmas approaches did they?

Obviously I think we all know there is no point getting carried away by any means. But you can’t really fault us so far, and I think Rodgers is doing an absolutely sterling job. However, Christmas is going to be massive for us, and the 2^nd half of the season is looking a lot tougher than the first.

I’m aware that my columns seem to be consistently negative considering generally I'm not one of those relentlessly negative, moaning bastards, but here are a few reasons it might not be the season to be jolly…

The biggest tests are still ahead… having already secured all my home tickets for the rest of the season, and with a quick look at the fixtures it doesn’t take a genius to see that we have a tough time ahead of it. Still to play City, Spurs and Chelsea  home and away, with Old Trafford still to go to and Arsenal to come to Anfield we have a lot of big tests ahead. I’m positive… to a point, but we really need to show we can are deserving of that 2nd point and get some big results.

We still look a bit shaky defensively… and I’m not sure anyone quite knows what our best back 4/5/3 is… including Rodgers! We have lots of options, but the combinations and partnerships aren’t quite working yet.

We’ll have to fight to keep Suarez in January… I think it’s a fight we’ll win, but no doubt the usual bollocks will emerge again and we’ll be forced to knock back a few offers. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have some top clubs sniffing around more of our talent as well – like a Ben Sherman shirted 40 year old round your bird in MOJO (one for the locals.)

The top clubs will spend in January… as much as we are revelling in their struggles, there is no way Utd will allow a repeat of the summer, they will spend big in January I’m sure (hopefully on more average Everton players!) But they won’t be the only ones, expect Chelsea and City to do the same. Who knows with Arsenal!

We never do well at Christmas… this might not be true, and it might just be my perception (I’m shit with stats and I can barely remember last weekend, let alone last year) but it seems to me that we haven’t had a very happy festive period over the last few years.

However, with all of the above in mind… I am going to be positive. We couldn’t have done much more so far, we’re 2^nd in what is a very open league this year and we’ve only really had one or two seriously poor performances. Our squad is looking in better shape than it has for a while, and who knows hopefully we’ll strengthen in January as well.

Bring it on…

Tweet @AnfieldShrine

The Anfield Shrine Column - Issue 191 of RAOTL

Originally published in print. Issue 191 of Red All Over The Land Fanzine

Liverpool V Palace – Not a match report at all…

After what seemed like a lengthy absence from Anfield (my last game being Man Utd this season, sitting out Southampton) I returned, with my old man up, for one of his trips of the season to enjoy Crystal Palace’s visit to Anfield. It is a fixture that held quite a lot of nostalgia for me and my old man as in 1998 Crystal Palace was the first Premier League game my Dad took me to at Anfield. I’m afraid to say mine isn’t a story of scouser to scouser, but deep down Bristol Rovers fan taking his slightly strange but very strong minded Liverpool supporting son to Anfield, all the way from Wiltshire. I won’t enter into the out of towner debate, and I feel no need to justify my support to anyone… I’ve lived in Liverpool ten years now, and my Dad is a full convert. Although even I will admit to a soft spot for Rovers as I mature. But anyway… I digress, it was indeed this fixture, well over ten years ago that I got my first taste of a premier league game at Anfield (having been to a pre-season friendly a few months before.) Like most of us, I will never forget the game… despite having forgotten most of the slightly dull duels against Premier League strugglers since. The great Lombardo was player manager at Palace, and a rather rotund Thomas Brolin also featured for the ‘Eagles.’ We won 2 -1 with a little David Thompson coming off the bench to score the winner. I’ll always remember the long drive home… crawling out of a guest house car park on the Anfield Road, a site that now houses the ‘food zone’ or ‘kids zone’ or some other absolute bastion of modernity and corporate bastardry. 606 on 5 Live droned on as we slowly made our way out of Liverpool, and flicking through a matchday fanzine while someone who’s opinion is of no consequence whatsoever* spouts rubbish to Alan Green  always reminds me of that wondrous evening.

So to the present day… we were unusually situated in the Main Stand… having resided for years in the Anfield Road, before becoming fed up of the hordes of incomprehensibly pissed Irish daytrippers that frequented it (no offence to our brilliant genuine Irish support by the way) and moving into the Kop. God know’s why, but the only availability for us for Palace was the main stand, so the main stand it was. In a strange way I quite enjoyed being in there again… it gives you that old football ground feel that is so hard to find these days. A feeling that leads me fairly nicely onto the whole point of this column….

I’m afraid I’m going to bemoan the atmosphere and yes, modern football in general. The site of a young lad getting carried out in the aftermath of Palace fans letting off smoke bombs was certainly distressing, and it makes it very difficult to advocate the use of ‘pyro’ at football stadiums, but you can certainly advocate noise, passion, originality and atmosphere. All of which, these days, Anfield does not possess. It isn’t so much modern football that is the problem… I’m sure we all secretly have Sky Sports News on more than most channels. Alright players get paid extortionate, ridiculous amounts of money… but there is very little we can do about that. The actually game itself hasn’t changed, a brilliant tackle is a brilliant tackle, a great goal, is a great goal. But your average matchoger… well they have changed dramatically.

I’m aware that it’s easy to moan about the atmosphere at Anfield these days, but I can’t help it… I pretty much despise most of the Anfield attendance now. If I’m honest, it looked a lot more fun in the Palace end! We all know that the match day atmosphere at the biggest grounds in the country have been on the decline for years, whatever we say… Old Trafford, Arsenal… ourselves, it’s all a similar pattern. Inflated prices and grounds full of ‘tourists’ and people who wouldn’t know ‘terrace culture’ if someone wrote it as a motif in the chocolate of their cappuccino.

I don’t expect a booming atmosphere every game… but at least have some self-respect and knowledge of what supporting a football club is all about. Not just any club indeed, Liverpool Football Club. We don’t sing… ‘who are ya’ and ‘going down, going down.’ We don’t take photos of Steven Gerrard taking a corner from 100 yards away on our iPhones. We don’t tell people to ‘sit down’ just because they have the cheek to get mildly excited or irate about something. We do take pride in what we wear to the match… and we don’t feel the need to drape ourselves in horrific and overpriced club merchandise.

I know people say, rather than moan about the atmosphere, try creating some? I hate that argument as much as anything else… my answer to that is: what is the point? For me, safe in the knowledge that I’m surrounded by vacuous identikits of modern life I’d rather sit quietly and enjoy the game than make some pathetic attempt at generating an atmosphere that I know no one else around me will appreciate of understand. For me it is more embarrassing and cringe worthy to see someone persevere through ‘Poor Scouser Tommy’ because they’ve learnt the lyrics off by heart on an internet forum.

Every now and again, very, very rarely, Anfield comes alive like we all know it can. But it is so rare these days. I appreciate the Kop seems to be more densely populated with banners and flags than it has been for a long time… but it strikes me as paying lip service to an atmosphere when after the whistle has gone, any sign of an atmosphere is packed away with the canvas and flag poles.

You’re having a scarf aren’t ya?!

Maybe I’m just in a bad mood… perhaps I’ll be proven wrong as the season progresses, but I doubt it. I was hugely heartened, if I can put it like that, by the piece by Semolina Pilchard in the last issue. They beat me to it by absolutely lambasting the modern obsession with ‘split scarves.’ The mind absolutely boggles. Now I didn’t used to mind split scarves during our European exploits, it struck me as a genuinely good ‘memento’ of some wonderful games and against obscure and fascinating opposition. I cherish my split scarves from games against the likes of Barcelona, CSKA Sofia, Juventus, Young Boys et al. However, why oh why anyone would want a split scarf of Liverpool Football Club Vs Wigan or Reading or Norwich or any other English team is beyond me. What is even worse than that are split scarves against Utd. We are Liverpool… we despise that lot more than anything else, how an earth anyone could cope with having THAT badge and THAT name draped across them at Anfield or anywhere else for that matter is beyond me. I think I may have posted a statement during the Utd game this season on some social media network or another, along the lines of… “any so called Liverpool ‘supporter’ who is currently at Andield sporting a Utd ‘split scarf’ should be strung up by it.” I stand by that.

Anyway… you’ve probably had enough of my vitriol. You wouldn’t think we were 2^nd in the league would you? There’s no pleasing some people. Pass me a plastic bottle of flat Carlsberg and I’ll try and crack a smile.

Oh and if anyone fancies sorting me out with away tickets… Tweet @AnfieldShrine

*Paranoid Android – Ok Computer - Radiohead

The Anfield Shrine Column - Issue 190 of RAOTL

Originally published in print. Issue 190 of Red All Over The Land Fanzine

Firstly I’d like to introduce what is HOPEFULLY going to be a regular column in RAOTL. Some of you may or may not remember ‘The Anfield Shrine’ a little fan site I ran during the emerging years of t’internet and LFC forums, probably well over 10 years ago now, how time flies! I was known as ‘Curly’ back then… but very few would know me by that name now.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I’m looking to reignite The Anfield Shrine as a new LFC blog, offering opinion, news and guest columnists. I’m just getting it stared again, but I’m keen for anyone who is interested in helping to get in touch… any contributors / designers / supporters are most welcome! I’m also very keen to continue to support this wonderful fanzine that I’ve enjoyed over the years, so I intend this column to be a regular and print only affair!

We’ve just opened a Twitter account, so please follow us @anfieldshrine – we’re not really tweeting much yet, but follow us and we will!

So anyway… onto some musings…

In Simple Praise of Brendan Rodgers

It is late on Red All Over The Land’s very own deadline day and I am determined to pen a piece after a final plea for contributions from the big man JJP. I was struggling to think about what to write about. Strange I know considering I’m sat here watching ‘Ingerlund’ safe in the knowledge that Liverpool FC are currently sitting pretty at the top of the Barclays Premier League © (for all you SKY fans) and with I think we would all agree a pretty successful transfer window behind us AND all without the enigma that is Luis Suarez. So I thought, considering my initial reticence and to be honest, just general ambivalence towards Rodgers as a Liverpool manager I thought it was about time I reflected and expressed my change in opinion.

It was not so much Rodgers ability as a manager that I doubted; it was more just something about him as a man that I found a little ‘cringe worthy’ for want of a better word. I don’t think that God awful ‘being Liverpool’ helped him in my eyes, but to be fair to the man that wasn’t his fault. I will fully admit to be a fully-fledged RAFA obsessive, I still am, I love the man and I wanted him back in a flash… but I’m starting to get over that. I think I’ve found closure!

And who can argue with Rodgers progress so far? Several things stand out for me…

The purchase of Sturridge – what an absolutely inspired move!

Coutinho – see above, what an absolute find… he is simply a magician and I just hope we can keep hold of him. I’m more worried about losing him than I am about Suarez now!

How he handled Suarez - the way both Rodgers and Henry handled the Suarez situation over the summer impressed me. We set our stall out that we’re not a selling club and didn’t let Suarez and his big mouth dictate things. We have ambitions worthy of keeping a player like Suarez, and so we should!

This transfer window – I think we have probably had one of the most successful windows out of any club. We haven’t lost anyone that we didn’t want rid of anyway. We have strengthened in defence which was essential, and with what looks like some real quality. Toure has looked another inspired buy and the other new lads all look to have a lot of potential.

We’re top of the league – ok no one is getting carried away, but we can’t fault that can we? And what is more, we’ve done it without Suarez and with a slight change in style. We haven’t been as obsessed about ‘knocking it about’ but have passed it well, kept possession but in a more meaningful fashion. The display against Utd was fantastic, I thought Lucas was outstanding and everyone played their part.

So I apologise Rodgers, I’m sorry for my initial coldness towards you… carry on like this and who knows where you will end up in my affections!

Finally… support RAOTL

Finally, just a little humble rallying cry to you all… to make sure you support this wonderful publication. If you’re reading this, it means you’ve bought a copy. If you’re never bought it before, I hope you’re enjoying it and if you buy it regularly: don’t stop! Buy a 2^nd copy and give it to a mate… and if you fancy putting pen to paper get in touch about contributing!

I love this fanzine and I’m so glad to be involved in it again, it was the first independent voice I came across as a young Liverpool fan and it gave me the chance to express my opinion and develop as a writer… albeit an amateur one! We all know our gripes with modern football, but fanzines like this are the absolute cornerstone of what being a football supporter is all about. Forget your replica kits, hospitality, 3^rd kits, training kits and LFC branded egg cups, just buy yourself a copy of RAOTL, put your Adidas trabs up and enjoy.