Title: Spyin' Kop: Liverpool v Manchester City. May the Fourth be with you.
Post by: Hinesy on May 1, 2008, 10:27:25 pm
| Well the tubby lass is warming her vocal chords as the season of madness comes to an end... Lets be honest, most of us right now would take the final game final whistle after the defeat to Chelsea, and whilst I really hope they win in Moscow, I won't be russian to see it. Thank you very much. But no, we've two games left and one of them is to a team in Manchester with fans remarkably from Manchester, apart from the owner who's further away than ours, its Thai tease me love you long time (unless you're called Sven) Thaksin Shinpadsfullofwater's boys in blue, Man City. It's our last game at home which means we should see Kewell milking the lap at the end but only making two sides before going off with a groin injury, Gerrard waving to the Main Stand (Kop end) no matter which way he's facing and Dirk running the whole thing in two minutes before anyone else has got their kids on the pitch... But before that, we've a game to play. Man City come to Anfield to play for pride maybe, maybe still fighting for a UEFA CUP spot, we playing for the beach and frankly not much else. We'd rather get this season out the way now and get on with next year, hopefully with new owners and new left backs rather than the current owners being left back with us. But what of Manchester City, well I asked ric @ bluemoon to see if he'd be up for answering a few questions and he promptly posted it on their forum, with yours truly getting the word "TOSSER" being the answer for most. Obviously they mean TORRES but I'll allow them that... On with the show chaps. Liverpool v Manchester City Sunday May 4th Anfield, Liverpool Kick Off: 4.00pm   MCFC Club Honours. European Cup Winners' Cup: 1970 Premier League Best Season: 2004-05 finished 8th Football League Champions: 1936-37, 1967-68 Football League Runners-up: 1903-04, 1920-21, 1976-77 Division One Champions: 2001-02 Division One Runners-up: 1999-2000 Division Two Champions (original): 1898-99, 1902-03, 1909-10, 1927-28, 1946-47, 1965-66 Division Two Runners-up (original): 1895-96, 1950-51, 1988-89 Division Two Play Off Winners: 1998-99 FA Cup Winners: 1904, 1934, 1956, 1969 FA Cup Runners-up: 1926, 1933, 1955, 1981 League Cup Winners: 1970, 1976 League Cup Runners-up: 1974 FA Charity Shield Winners: 1937-38, 1968-69, 1972-73 Full Members Cup Runners-up: 1986 FA Youth Cup Winners: 1986, 2007 Central League Champions: 1977-78, 1986-87, 1999-2000 Only team in Manchester Worth Bothering About Award 1792- present day. Thanks to the following City fans from www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk for their answers. You can read the rest of their posts at this address: http://www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=74791 1.The Baltic Blues..Think back to the arrival of Sven – is your league position where you thought it would be under him, or lower or higher? Has he been a surprise to you, as much as all the media condemned his chances when he arrived? Matty We're pretty much where I thought we'd be. The problem is we started so well, 100% home record up to Christmas, it looked like we were going to be higher. The last few months have been bitterly disappointing, even mediocre form would have seen us up challenging Villa and Everton for the UEFA Cup, at the least. Impeccable Fan I said at the time i'd be happy simply with better football regardless of league position, some of the football has still been poor but you can see the idea and where were going so yes i'm happy with that, i'm therefore very happy with top 10, and taking a season out from the relegation battle is a welcome relief mcfc_ms When Sven arrived I wasnt too sure. However his turn around has been brilliant. He has got us playing decent football and in my opinion I think we are only a couple of players away from a quality team. We will need lots of backup though. The season has been very good so far and to be fair when sven first came I thought midtable would be respectable, however after the teriffic start most of us would have expected where we are now at the very least. 2.We’ve enjoyed your derby wins over the small club up the road almost as much as you probably did – were they the best things all season or something else? Matty The first time we've done the double over the scum in my lifetime, and I'm 31!! Yep, it was definitely the best thing to happen for me. There have been signs that City are progressing which has also been good to see, but there hasn't been any one incident/event that's overshadowed the derby wins Impeccable Fan They were great, particularly the win at the swamp fantastic day out, but the best thing for me has the Academy, it looks as strong as ever with some very good players on there way through to the 1st team again, that makes me the proudest right now. mcfc_ms Yes, they were teriffic wins and its about time we won at the swamp. I think the most pleasing thing though about this season is the transformation from last year. 3. It seems like Sven signed most of his squad from whoever fell out the Panini sticker packet that day. Who do you think has been your most important player(s) this season so far and has Eriksson done well with the pick n’ mix or not? Impeccable Fan Fernandes has been getting better all season, Corluka has a great football brain, he's in the mould of Didi Hamman in so far as style on the pitch, Elano started fantasticly but unfortunately has suffered a little as the seasons gone on, Best player for me Petrov... not often we've had players like him at city, some fans are frustrated by his lack of defensive ability but i love having a player who's only thoughts are going forward mcfc_ms The bargain of the season has got to be petrov, around £4.5m for a superb player who has got everything from skill, pace and possibly the best crosser of the ball in the league (Pity we hardly have anyone on the end of them). Elano was great at the beginning of the season but slowly lost fitness however he is getting back to his best even if he is at right back! The other great signing was Gelson Fernandes. What a great player for someone so young. Runs about all game, tackles more than anyone else, with a great engine. Other signings have been great. Cant really fault any at present. Corluka is a classy defender, Bianchi was class but unfortunatly couldnt settle. Caisedo, Castillo, Benjani, Bojinov havent really had much time yet to impress. Matty Give the short amount of time Sven had to build the squad I think he's done extremely well. People may have questioned his signings, some stating he'd never seen them play and only used videos, but this is a top manager with European credentials and contacts. He's been scouring Europe since he left the England job, building up contacts, keeping tabs on players, waiting for when this would be put to use. Of his signings some have been patchy with their form whereas others have been more solid. Elano started off like a world beater but has dropped off of late and Petrov blows either extremely hot or glacially cold. Corluka has probably been the most consistant performer, and Fernandes has improved the longer the season has progressed. Special mention has to go to Hamann who has been in top form this season, a revelation after how insignificant he was under Pearce. 4.And your worst player(s)? Matty Tough call. Bianchi has been the most disappointing, pretty much £9m and he never seemed to settle. Now it looks like he'll be gone in the summer to Lazio. A couple of our pre-Sven players have been poor, Mpenza hasn't been up to the task and Samaras has proven where his true level is, Scotland! Impeccable Fan Don't like this question, there are players we probably should get rid of, and some who have under-performed but whilst they wear the sky blue shirt i'll keep there names to myself. mcfc_ms Dont like to single out any players 5.Thai me up Thai me down!! How do you feel about Thaksin Shinpads potentially getting rid of Sven? Or signing Ronaldimessihenryo? Is he a good chairman for you? Is it all lush lemongrass or a chilli wind blowing at Eastlands? this was written before it was announced he was to sack Sven so I posted another question about who they'd like in as manager too - these answers are the mix of those questions Matty Sven should NEVER be even rumoured as being sacked, to allow that to happen would be a HUGE mistake. I'm hoping it's paper talk and conjecture with no real basis in truth, if it isn't then I'm extremely disappointed with Shinawatra's attitude, he set Sven a target (top 10 finish), he's achieved it. The Ronaldinho link is laughable, lets face it he's never going to sign for a club in our situation, he's one of the best players in the world. Anyway, he'd never get in our side ahead of Darius Vassell! Impeccable Fan Paper-talk... I'm baking Sven and will be vocally and visually backing him at your place and in boro, i'm not going to comment on Frank until he actually makes the decision publicly, I feel Sven has achieved the targets set by Frank has also bought some wonderfull players (many of whom were obscure and reasonably unheard of) It would therefore be, in my opinion, the wrong move to sack the swede. I'm hoping Frank will see this. Other than that Frank has helped improve the club fantasticly so before all this speculation i was delighted with what he'd done for us mcfc_ms I think all this talk of big frank wanting Sven out has been stirred by the media. Personally I think Sven would still be here next season. In regards to Ronaldinho i'm not arsed. Great player if he gets himself fit, but could just want a final pay day. 6. Any new chants we should expect to hear apart from Blue Moon? Were there any new ditties written after beating the small club up the road twice? Or about the new players, or has Sven got his own song? Matty We don't seem to do new songs, so be prepared for the same dull ones we trawl out ever season. There will probaly be one rhyming 'Zimbabwe' with 'Derby Day' but that's about it.... Impeccable Fan No - We'll still bounce to the same old songs & you can expect to hear "Super Svens Blue, White Army" & "Sven-Goran-Erickson mcfc_ms Most of the songs involve woahh  7.What sort of line-up do you expect Svennis will set up against us? Matty 4-5-1, it's ALWAYS 4-5-1. We've got no fit defenders at the moment, with Richards, Onouha, Garrido and Dunne all missing the Fulham debacle. If Dunne is fit then the back four will likely be Dunne, Ball, Corluka and Sun (who's absolutely crap). Midfield will likely be Petrov, Ireland, Johnson, Fernandes and Elano (or Vassell) with Benjani playing the lone role up front. Not exactly scaring you is it?!! Impeccable Fan Hart in goal, with a makeshift back 4 - Elano (although he might be in defence), Ireland, Fernandes, Vassell (if elano is our right back), Johno & Petrov in the middle, Benji upfront. mcfc_ms Most likely a 4-5-1 formation. I really hope Elano isnt shoved at right back though, as i can see torres and co ripping our defence apart. I would also like to see Hamman back in the team as he has been brilliant for us this season but not been selected for a few weeks because Gelson is in great form. Watch out for the Vass! He is doing quite well at the moment 8.Please don’t take this the wrong way but when City were up and down the leagues like a whore’s drawers, your ground was packed with fans, but recently since the dizzying heights of 4th have popped up and stability being the half time snack of choice, your fabled atmosphere and support has slipped a bit. Am I wrong or why is that the case? Matty When we were doing the relegation/promotion thing we had a 35,000 capacity stadium, now we've got a 48,000 one, that probably has somethign to do with it as we're averaging over 40,000 at the moment. Pearce's terminally dull football from last season had a knock on effect on this season's season ticket uptake. Hopefuly the new Sven era will result in increased crowds for next season. Impeccable Fan Unfortunately over the years our "old school" fans have dwindled as prices have gone up and quality of football deteriorated, we now only have pockets of the kind of fans that want to get pissed and have a sing song, when decent songs are made up they rarely make it into COMS. mcfc_ms A bit wrong. I think there are around 40,000 hard core city fans who would go every game if they could. When in the lower leagues we were at maine road which would generally sell out to capacity. I think this new stadium is too big for us at present and was more built for the future. The atmosphere isnt as good at CoMS but i think thats the norm with new stadiums. Just look at Arsenal. 9. How do you think Liverpool have fared this season – what’s the away fans’ thinking about the unrest and twats who run our club? Has it been schaudenfreude – laughing at another’s misfortune, or “There but for the grace of god, go we…” Matty Will Liverpool ever be competitive in the league? Season after season you challenge for the Champion's League yet fall well short of the Premier League title, it's bizarre. You need defenders, although I'm sure this isn't anythign new to you. Your full backs are a weakness, Arbeloa, Finnan, Riise, Aurelio, can you see any of them starting regularly for the other 3 'big sides', because I can't. The owener split at Liverpool has been a shock, especially given your history of 'keeping it in-house' with the boot room etc. Unfortunately this kind of thing happens when people who simply don't get English football get involved. Shinawatra has made mistakes and it would seem Hicks and Gillett are doing the same. It needs sorting and quickly, having your two owners at odds with eachother will soon become untenable. Impeccable Fan Same as usual you seem to have too many off days to seriously challenge for the league 4th spot should be yours but i thought you were going to chuck that away round christmas, and think you'll struggle to beat both Chelsea + Man Utd for the Chumps league. Feel sorry for you regards Gillett/Hicks, think i'll probably get some "sack the board" songs going for you ; ) mcfc_ms I think the americans are bad for your club. The sooner you get rid of one or both of them the better. I wouldnt laugh at your club for this because I only really hate two teams. One is obvious and the other is spurs. I actually think liverpool is a good club and you deserve better. In the league you havent done too well, but Rafa is a great manager who has seemed to have learned recently that he cant afford to rotate players as much. I hope either liverpool or Barcelona win the champions league. If you win it then it would really piss of the rags. A liverpool V Rags final would be really funny when you win it. 10.Where do you expect yourselves and Liverpool to finish come the end of the season? Impeccable Fan Top 10 for us, i'm hoping 8th now I suppose. You should be safe in 4th Matty Not much of a leap of faith given there's only 2 games left!! If Arsenal beat Derby on Monday 28th April then you finish 4th, it's not possible to finish anywhere else! We'll probably finish in 9th which, after last season, is a big improvement. mcfc_ms Liverpool to finish fourth easily. With the possibilty of winning the Champions league City to finish 8th. Possibly qualify to the uefa cup through various ways 11.Which Liverpool player(s) do you fear the most? Impeccable Fan Torres & Macherano (spell?) both superb players, Gerrard on his day is also a worry he seems to link up well with torres too. hopefully he'll have a quiet one though. Matty Hard to say as your result against Chelsea will probably determine who does and doesn't play. If you play a full strength team then Torres is a constant threat, and you can never discount Gerrard. However I can see this game being a non-event, it doesn't matter to either of us really. On the Champion's League issue, I hope you beat Chelsea as I'm fed up of teams buying trophies they have no right competing for. Chelsea are a mediocre football club that is only where it is today because of a billionaires money, I realise City could be charged with a similar 'crime' but there's ahell of a lot of difference between us spending £40m or so and Chelsea spending £250m. If you go on to beat the scum in the final then even better, because they'll HATE that! Robbie Fowler will have to grow an extra finger to wave at them with!! mcfc_ms Torres!!!! What a signing he was Hoepfully he wont be playing. I also fear crouch, very underrated player in my opinion. In fact I fear all of your players if we dont have a defence. Hopefully Riise might bag us a few 12.And to finish, what's the score? Care to risk a guess? Impeccable Fan 1-3 to city, i'm always optimistic but think the bookies like me Matty You'll probably sneak it by a goal, so I'll say 1-0 to Liverpool mcfc_ms Really depends what team Rafa puts out. If you win the game against chelsea on wednesday then he might decide to rest players for the impending final. It also depends on if we have a defence. Richards and Dunne are key to us. I'm going to say either a 1-1 draw or a 2-1 win to either team. Is that good enough There we are now, thanks again to them all, and til next year  |
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