The All-Spanish Update

Will History Repeats Itself After Real Sack Capello?

Shock and horror. Real Madrid decides to get rid of the title winning Italian coach, Fabio Capello, despite the prestigious club winning the coveted Spanish La Liga title for the first time in 4 years.

For a club with it's stature and history, being barren for 4 whole years is not a good reading, especially being pipped by Catalan rivals, Barcelona, for the last 2 years.

I might not watch the La Liga matches as religiously as I watch Liverpool but I do read about them on various websites and watches the highlight show on TV. 4 weeks before Real Madrid were actually crowned the champion, I already knew they were going to win it.

Written in the stars? Last gasp winners? Perhaps even because it was Beckham's swan-song? But to some extent, it was Capello who breathe new breath into the once glorious club, stabilised the rocking ship and ultimately getting to the holy grail.

Not exactly shocking but more baffled by the decision of the Real Madrid president, Ramon Calderon, to sack the manager after only one season at the club.

You have to ask whether have they learned anything from the past decade. Underachieving, massive ego problems, player power and cliques within the 'Galaticos'. Just when it all finally seemed to settle down, Mr. Calderon decides to drop a bombshell that will rock the ship again.

Seeing the news actually brought back comparison with their former manager, Vicente Del Bosque, who was sacked back in the 2002/03 season despite winning the league and reaching the semi finals of the Champions League.

From then on, Real Madrid's road to glory went pear shaped and like a ship tossed to and fro in the stormy seas, they struggled to steady it. Changing 5 managers in 4 years tells a story about the stability of the club, that they never manage to settle down with someone.

Different coaches brought in different styles of play and the way each manager works are totally different from the rest. Therefore I believe it is important to stick with the same guy for the job for as long as possible. Winning the league for them is a good enough job, so why the sacking?

Unless they have someone better in place?

Arsenal fans, I can hear your heart rate going up. Because Arsene Wenger is one of the managers in line for the job but I myself don't feel good at all, with Rafa Benitez constantly linked with a move to the Spanish capital.

Bernd Schuster, the German manager of the high-flying Getafe, is also heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernebéu.

Whether this decision proves to be a success or not is still to be seen. Capello's handling of the Beckham affair makes him look rather silly while his authoritarian style might be going against the principle of Real Madrid and it's superstars.

What's next for Real Madrid? It's going to be worrying for them because the image that they portray to the public is that they are constantly looking to chop and change things and the pressure of the job is going to be so great that it might scare some potential managers off.

To me, a bad move. Whoever they'll appoint for next season, they're going to have a tough time readjusting to the new style brought in and new life under the coach.

With Barcelona already signaling the intent to up the ante with the signing of Thierry Henry and perhaps, Eric Abidal & Cristian Chivu, Real Madrid needs to build a consistent team with a leader that will be there throughout, not for a short period of time.


Liverpool Sign Mikel San Jose & Nikolay Mikhailov

Another 2 youngsters into the academy squad. Not much known about them but I take it as an intent from Rafa Benitez that he is here to stay for as long as possible, to oversee the development of these young gems.

San Jose is a youngster from Athletico Bilbao and plays in defence as well as in the anchor role. Seems like we're having absolutely no trouble in that position, eh? Keeping a collection of defensive midfielders is always good I guess...

Mikhailov is from Levski Sofia and is a Bulgarian goalkeeper, son of the head of Bulgarian FA. A talented goalkeeper in training, his attitude seemed to be the problem many people have highlighted.

He has got Champions League and international football experience under his belt despite only celebrating his 19th birthday today.

Performance wise, he has certainly not set the world alight with some careless mistakes like the one where he failed to control a backpass and the ball ending up in the back of his own net. Other notorious incidents including conceding 5 goals against the Scots *cough cough*.

Whatever it is, we shall welcome these kids with open arms and hopefully, they'll turn out to be something we expect them to be.

8: Steven Gerrard vs Bolton

Dear oh dear, it's our skipper on the list again. But who can blame him for constantly scoring some majestic goals such as this one, a perfect example of arriving in the box late, catching defenders sleeping and finishing it with some style.

Throughout the coverage of the Top 25 goals, I noticed that Pennant actually did a great job for the team and he has been pretty decent to be honest. I still have my doubts over him but overall, he seemed to play a heavy role in some of the fantastic goals we scored.

9: Steven Gerrard vs Middlesbrough

You know you're going to see an awful lot of that name when it comes to goal of the season competition, isn't it? Well, more so when he scores one wonder goal each season against Middlesbrough.

We remembered that volley from 35 yards out and once again Gerrard became the jinx of 'Boro again.

I personally love this goal because it was started off with a fantastic move. The passing and movement between the midfielders was superb as they held up the ball, move it around and then found Gerrard with acres of space.

Without a doubt, the skipper finished with aplomb.

10: Xabi Alonso vs Watford

I think not many of us would've remembered this great goal. Only after I started to go back and look at all the goals scored in the 2006/07 season then I realise what a fantastic goal it was.

It was a move from the back to the front and Xabi Alonso, the technically gifted midfielder side footed it past Ben Foster.

Reaching the top 10 finally, are you excited? :p

Relax, Maybe Torres Is On His Way?

Perhaps Rafa had seen my article that lamented on our general sloppiness when it comes to the transfer market. For the past few seasons it has been due to the lack of resources. We're a pretty successful club but being a modest club, Liverpool seldom splash big bucks for players.

Looking at our record signing, 14 million GBP for Cissé, says it all. Although he ain't really that good and still probably didn't justify that price tag, 14 million is usually looked to as a small sum when it comes to the bigger teams across the continent.

Time to spend big now, with huge backing from George Gilett and Tom Hicks but hey, we're still waiting.

Incidentally, Rafa Benitez came out and preach a message of patience to the masses of fans like us to stay calm. The words are from the very man whom got all agitated and annoyed earlier this month when he quoted saying 'we only talk and talk but no action'.

Maybe he already has something in place. For he also mentioned that he'll want to add 'someone'
into the squad before the Pre-season training starts, which is by the way, this Thursday. Snoogy doogy perhaps?

According to papers and the media, we're closely linked with Fernando Torres, the Spanish striker whom was seen wearing his Atletico Madrid armband with 'You'll Never Walk Alone' on the flip side.

With the impending departure of Theirry Henry from Arsenal, it could pose a serious threat to our bid as Arsenal might just hijack the deal but seeing that they will not be ready to offer big money as to trigger Torres' contract clause, it's really up to Liverpool to seize the moment.

Rumours has it that Atletico wants Peter Crouch in return but we all know how important the 'bean pole' is to the club. Craig Bellamy is never the most wanted player in Europe and it's left with Djibril Cissé, who will not be farmed out to any clubs anymore. The faster we get rid of him the better, according to Rafa.

The minimum clause for Torres' contract is believed to be up to 25 million GBP and that the discussion between Atletico and Liverpool has come to a compromise that Liverpool will offer Cissé in their direction plus cash, little less than 20 million.

As a football fan with a soft spot for Spain (I supported them in the '06 World Cup), I always thought Torres is a pretty decent striker with good pace and intelligence on the pitch. Although his goal return in the La Liga seemed to deteriorate each season, with only 13 to account for in the 06/07 season, it's perhaps time for Torres to move on.

Whether he'll turn out to be the new Ian Rush with a big price tag or just another victim in the dearth of strikers at Anfield, it's probably pleasing to hear about our interest in the big names. Capturing Torres would mean more than his contribution on the pitch.

He's like a Beckham of Spain, in some ways. The suave and stylish Spaniard could probably boost Liverpool's merchandising sales in the continental region while it shows forth the club's ambition to move on from a club that signs players of quantity rather than quality.

Although still unsure whether he'll be able to adapt to the English game, I'm all for this move and here's hoping that we'll strike the deal fast. His arrival could probably spark off interest from players to join in the 'Rafa-lution'.

What's your take?

11: John Arne Riise vs PSV Eindhoven

Goal that came from a defensive error on PSV's part but what a goal from Riise again. He seldom scores but when he scores, he always seemingly ensures that it's enough to break the net within the goal.

Are You Worried?

Do you stop by Liverpoolfc.tv daily? Do you have NewsNow on your internet browser all the time? Do you read only the sports section of the newspaper despite all that appears are rumours and more rumours? Do you ask a friend to help you look out for transfer news while you're away for a holiday? Do you drop by a Liverpool FC forums more than 3 times a day?

If you say yes to any of the questions then yes, you're anxious and pretty much as worried as I am. Regarding the so called 'summer clear out' and 'big money spending', all I can sense now is the calmness and overall lethargic feeling when it comes to Liverpool and the transfer market.

As a club that went into 2 European Cup finals in 3 years, why aren't we making the headlines and creating storms? If the American owners really back Rafa with the spending then what's going on at the moment? Talks? Bargaining? Wheeling and dealing?

We've gotten our hopes high earlier on when the American owners took over and we all expect a wholesale change to the team. With money, the rotating doors of Anfield seemed to have set in motion yet after almost a month since the disappointing defeat at Athens, it seemed like nothing has happened.

Samuel Eto'o, David Villa, David Silva, Gabriel Milito and even Thierry Henry. These are just some of the many names linked with us thus far. While some are feasible, most are just absurd and most probably created by tabloid newspapers to get fans like you and me excited, but for no reason.

Recently, posters are seen posting about us doing a double swoop on Fernando Torres and that we have officials over in Spain for discussion since the Spanish La Liga season has finally wrapped up last Sunday.

But nothing, from then on.

Then we're linked with players such as Darren Bent, Yossi Benayoun and Diego Forlan. Yes, Diego Effing Forlan, the ManYoo reject and flop. If we're really looking into players such as him then we really need to question the ambition of the board and also Rafa's judgment.

He might not be too bad of a player in the Spanish League, we've seen how he failed to set England alight in the 2 seasons at ManYoo and why should we pick up scraps from a rival's table? We should aim higher.

Yossi Benayoun? Probably an Israelite that might bring us to the Promised Land but 40 years is a bit too long.

I'm typing with much contempt, feeling disappointed yet hopeful. I'm desperate to see what the board and Rafa has in store for Liverpool FC but now, it seemed like we're losing all our top targets and we're moving too slow.

Before we know it, Rafa might once again throw a tantrum and leave. That's the worst I fear.

Come on, do something. It's getting tiresome already. Show us the ambition. Don't just talk, we need to see it happen.

12: Steven Gerrard vs Charlton

Classy finish from the winner of the unanimous player of the year at Liverpool.A good knockdown from Peter Crouch enables the skipper to fire past the stranded Charlton goalkeeper.

TRC's Liverpool Player Of The Year Award

3 weeks ago, I ended the seasonal team review with players from each position reviewed. Rounding it off, I put up a poll for you, my beloved fans, to vote for who you think deserves the player of the year/season award and I just want to say a big thank you to whoever that has participated. Multiple votes or not I couldn't care less but thanks for your support through it all!


Anyway here's the result and unsurprisingly, club captain, Steven Gerrard is the most popular vote on here and although the margin between him and second placed, Pepe Reina, isn't that big, it's essential to see that the efforts and hard work put in my the skipper didn't go unnoticed.

To me, he didn't play as well as he did in the 2005/06 season in which he scored 23 goals in a season, albeit most of them again some bit part teams like TNS or Kaunas. This term, he continues to be pushed to the right flank by Rafa and didn't seem to impose as much authority as he should.

But a born and bred scouser, he has already found a place in each and every Liverpool fan's heart with his all-action style and 'grabbing by the scruff of the neck' game changing powers. Despite nearly moving to recent rivals, Chelsea, he just signed a new 5 year contract along with the likes of Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso.

But to my surprise, Pepe Reina is the second most voted player in the player of the year vote as he holds 53 votes, compared to Gerrard's 57. Only a meagre 4 votes separates the two.

In third place, the uncompromising Jamie Carragher with 49 votes and then another surprise package, Daniel Agger, with 15% of the votes. The ever 'away-from-the-limelight' Steve Finnan is 5th while both Crouch and Kuyt covers the two bottom spot respectively.

From the votes, we could see the trend that Liverpool does have a pretty impressive backline with most of the defenders having a decent season but we need to score the goals and attackers need to be more consistent and deliver the goods.

A total of 252 votes are taken into account.

13: Luis Garcia vs Bordeaux

A sweet, sweet volley from a difficult angle and the ball reached Garcia at a rather awkward position but just like any flair players, executed it without fuss.

Simple things like pass and move he might not excel, it's stuff like this that makes people goes jaw-dropped. Looking forward to next season when we'll see Little Luis again!(hopefully)