Liverpool FC

Isn't this a cool application!

The Recycled Bits Factory — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 04:32:00 GMT

First of all, Google Earth is cool! Then Frappr is way cool!!

So, if you are a Liverpool FC fan, click on this image

and put yourself on the map! If you upload a picture, it'll come out in the scrolling photogallery above too!

Good Omens

The Recycled Bits Factory — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 13:43:00 GMT

... is an excellent and funny book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Damnit, that's not what I wanted to talk about...

And bad omens, really. At the end of the European Champions entry I mentioned another omen. In 1981 after winning the European Cup, the following season Liverpool played 2 sets of matches before meeting CSKA Sofia and losing to them 2-1 on aggregate over two legs. Of course back then it was a straight knockout competition, and the meeting with CSKA was the quarterfinals.

This season we have played 2 sets of matches and are due to meet CSKA Sofia in our third set of matches, which this season serves as the final qualifying round to enter the lucrative group stages. I await this round of matches with trepidation. If the omens hold, we'll be knocked out. Hopefully they will yet hold for another last entry… Liverpool wins the league.

European Champions

The Recycled Bits Factory — Thu, 26 May 2005 16:35:00 GMT

AC Milan v Liverpool, Istanbul
25 May 2005

As we were for most of this season, we are underdogs in this match, nay THE FINAL. How we got there is a fairytale really, mostly filled with grit and determination and (who doesn't need it is kidding themselves) luck. The omens were all there;

1978:
Wales win the Grand Slam in Rugby
A new Pope is appointed
Liverpool lose in the League Cup final to the eventual League Champions that year (Forest)
Liverpool win the European Cup

1981:
Prince Charles got married
Ken and Deirdre got married (Coronation Street)
A new Doctor Who was appointed
Norwich and Crystal Palace were relegated
Liverpool won the European Cup

2005:
A new Pope is appointed
Wales win the Grand Slam in Rugby
A new Doctor Who was appointed
Prince Charles got married
Ken and Deirdre got married (Coronation Street)
Liverpool lose in the League Cup final to the eventual League Champions that year (Chelsea)
Norwich and Crystal Palace were relegated

In the previous 4 finals that we've won, Liverpool wore red against opponents wearing white, so when AC Milan despite being designated home team wanted to wear white (they'd won previously wearing white) we thought that too many omens had come together for us to fail.

Then the game started. Ancellotti had boasted that Milan would break down our defence within 3 minutes... and they did in the first minute. ~~Bambi~~Traore gave away a free kick at the edge of the area and Maldini of all people, miscued the ball into the net. The rest of the first half passed torturously for any Liverpool fan as Milan commanded the midfield and Kaka especially was brilliant. His trhough ball for Crespo to score the third goal (yes 3-0 in the first half) was exquisite. 3-0 after 45 minutes. It was like the mr Hyde team that had played in the league turned up instead of the Dr jekyll team that usually plays in the UCL.

The the second half started, and the realist fan said "let's not get embarrassed, we'd never live it down". The die-hard optimist fan in me said, "well if we can score one, there might be hope". The the fightback started with Gerrard's goal. Then Smicer scored. 3-2 and the crowd was wild. Then Gerrard again bearing down onto goal was brought down and a penalty was given...

Some people say it was a bit of a soft peno, but I believe that if you're running and someone nudges you its quite easy to fall. Anyhow what goes around comes around and there'll be days when we deserve penalties but didn't get them (well there HAVE been, and will be in the future) so those righteous b*st*rds who have never had a soft peno decision given for them or against them can bloody well stfu.

Alonso sent the ball to Dida's right and he actually managed to palm it, but it fell directly to Alonso who scored. 3-3 and all within a 6 minute blitz. Breathless stuff, and Milan were rattled. But they came back into the game and pressed all the way till the end of extra time. Just before the end of ET I think there must have been some Liverpool fan deaths as Schevchenko had a point-blank shot at Dudek and the rebound too which Dudek managed to keep out somehow. Milan players must have felt the fates were conspiring against them.

So on to penalties and we eventually won 3-2 after Dudek had saved from Schevchenko again.

European Champions, and we get to keep the cup this time since it's the 5th time.

Detractors say that Liverpool stole the game in 6 minutes. I say Milan had all of 114 minutes to win it and they couldn't either. The Liverpool crowd had a lot to do with it... if you hear You'll Never Walk Alone sung by 40,000 people when you're 3-0 down at halftime, there is no way you can lose.

There's one more omen, but that'd be tempting fate...

Liverpool 2 - Juventus 1

The Recycled Bits Factory — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 10:29:00 GMT

OHH YEAH!!! NoHopers Rollercoaster FC 2 - Juve 1

Brilliant, brilliant 1st half performance, topped by an amazing goal from Luis Garcia (did anyone hear Masefield "oh, i'm sure he didn't mean to strike it that way" *bleah*) Can't blame them for tiring out in the second. Wish Carson had done better with the goal, though, even if he did have a huge save in the 1st.

excerpt from yesterday's Fiver

EYES FORWARD

Liverpool meet Juventus tonight, with most of us still wondering how they've ended up in the last eight of Big Cup while Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United all have the evening free for bridge. Still, you can only beat what's put in front of you, and Fabio Capello will surely have no qualms about reaching the semi-finals by seeing off a crocked Anfield collective. Anyone expecting an exciting game [should frankly know better, and] will be disappointed to hear that Capello reckons "there's something satisfying about winning 1-0". Groan.

And even though Pavel "I cannot say if I have 90 minutes in my legs" Nedved has been hobbling around all day muttering earnestly about retiring, Fab doesn't seem unduly worried. "There could be a problem with continuity or concentration given that we have not played since March 19," he conceded, lulling Rafael Benitez into a false sense of security before aiming a hefty punt between his legs: "but that really shouldn't be a problem against Liverpool."

But if there's one thing Rafa's learnt since arriving at Anfield, it's to have confidence even while looking Djimi Traore firmly in the eye. "On the basis of our wins over Olympiakos and Bayer Leverkusen, we are one of the best teams in Europe," he said, twisting the facts into a rather ugly pile of cftas. "I've told my players they have done well against important teams," he continued, swinging a large pocket watch around the dressing room. "Why can't they do the same thing against Juventus?" Finding the small hand lingering over five, the Fiver made sharpish for the bookies.

It might end in tears next week as we are away in the Stadia Delle Alpi, but for now we can hold our heads high. Nobody, but nobody can play against us when we deign to turn it on (see v Arsenal). We just need a draw in Turin but I really hope we go there and surprise, nay, shock them like we did in the 1st half. Especially if we can score and they need 2 just to force extra time.

Like a friend said, even through the TV you can feel the atmosphere - not for nothing Kopites are in the Guinness Book of Records as the Loudest Fans in the World^®.

Rollercoaster FC

The Recycled Bits Factory — Sat, 02 Apr 2005 21:40:00 GMT

All I'm hoping for is some semblance of consistency. There have been matches in which we looked brilliant and equally there have been some which we have been dire. But there are enough glimpses of the Rafalution to whet the appetite for next season. Hopefully we won't be so heavily hit with injuries and from there gain some stability.

Quit it with the begging

The Recycled Bits Factory — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 17:09:00 GMT

There's been a lot of international football over the last week, and what's been noticeable is that whenever someone gets fouled he automatically turns to the ref and makes that brandishing a yellow card movement with his hands. It's not just the Asians, but the Europeans are guilty of it too.

It's blatantly unsporting behaviour, and the Laws of the game already provide punishment for it. So, I think it's time to apply rule 1 in the Cautionable Offences in Law 12. To wit:

A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

is guilty of unsporting behaviour;
shows dissent by word or action;
persistently infringes the Laws of the Game;
delays the restart of play;
fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick or free kick ;
enters or re-enters the field of play without The Referee’s permission;
deliberately leaves the field of play without The Referee’s permission.

There will be a few teething problems during the intitial stages — some matches may get abandoned if many players forget the new application and get two yellow cards (and get sent off) but they will quickly learn and pretty soon all the begging will stop.

What a match, what a win

Feisal — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:26:00 GMT

A great win, thoroughly deserved for the effort put in application of tactics and fighting spirit. Arsenal would've been happy to get away with a point having made only one shot at goal (no doubt scoring it) but when was the last time you saw stats like that after the first half?

Sense of foreboding..

Feisal — Sun, 28 Nov 2004 14:51:00 GMT

I'm sooo not looking forward to tonight's match with Arsenal - oh sure they're having a crisis. We have no recognized strikers. Nada. Zilch. Zero. We've also lost Luis Garcia who's useful in midfield, and Babmi (sorry, Djimi Traore) who seems to be the most improved player this season. That means we're somewhat f***ed.

Why oh why did we let Owen go in the summer. Someone wrote on the LFC list sometime back that if we kept Owen and went a long way in the Euro Champions league it'd be worth more than the paltry £8 mil + Nunez(who?) we got for him.