Infernal Affairs
I first watched this Hong Kong movie called Infernal Affairs a few years ago. For those who don't really know the story, here's a very short spoiler of what happened: Two young officer cadets go to the same police school. Andy Lau plays a protege to one of the most-wanted criminals in Hong Kong, who is installed as a mole in the Police Force, where he rises to detective. Tony Leung is dispatched to become a spy in that very gang that Andy Lau's loyalties lie. As both sides struggle to find who is the traitor, there is a classic rooftop scene in which both moles face off.
Leung: I am a cop. (Points gun at Andy Lau)
Lau: Who knows that?
It is a tragic movie about divided personalities, and is a movie that has so many twists that in the end you'll be spinning in your seat catching your breath.
I am talking about this movie because it seems so similar to the strange dark cloud that has settled over Anfield's board room this season. Coincidentally, acclaimed American director Martin Scorcese thought that he could make a Yank version of the movie, too. He called it The Departed.
Martin Scorcese won an Oscar for this, which is pretty surprising, because I felt he took off the class from the original and made it chock-full of the violence that you'd expect from his movies.
In any case, the movies made me think of the two leading roles at Anfield right now - Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Jr. We have constantly been made to believe, by the media, that the guy to hate, lock, stock and barrel, to be the Texan guy who said he was impressed by Jurgen Klinsmann.
But where has ol' George been all this time, eh? The 'quiet American' went into the buyout of our beloved club after snagging the guy with the purse, Tom Hicks. For a moment it seemed that he was the one with the passion for the club - until he suddenly disappeared sometime after November and never re-emerged.
In the meantime, poor Tom Hicks - probably never that good with words - mentioned that George and himself had been looking for an insurance policy. NOT John Hancock, NOT AIG, NOT even Prudential, but a German guy who used to dive for Tottenham Hotspur.
So in the meantime we got to our business of defending Rafa, thinking that Hicks is the bad guy, when he's actually the one who raised his hands after his partner shot the golden goose. In recent reports, Rafa has kissed and made up with Tom Hicks, and it seems ever clearer that the man in the sidelines might have been the one up to mischief.
When he finally let loose one final objection - that 'my partner cannot sell without my approval' - it made me realise something. This was the guy who was pulled in to purchase the club last minute - but he's the guy who least wants to leave. At least, that's how it looks like from my perspective. This was the rooftop scene, all over again. The last stab of justice, before the inevitable starts to happen.
Tony Leung's character will die at the end of the movie, without a proper identity, killed by a traitor in the Police Force. Tom Hicks will leave at the end of the season, probably hated eternally by most Liverpool fans, because he tried to do the impossible by holding the club together even after the breakdown of a fragile business partnership.
Somehow, I don't think that Tom Hicks is holding out just for profit. A niggling feeling tells me that we have maligned this innocent Texan. While I awaited eagerly for George Gillett to come out to make his stand, he has failed to do so - and a present screw-up, in my opinion (in the case of Hicks) is still much better than an absent one.
No matter what happens at the end of the season - and I strongly believe that Hicks will be gone by then as well as Gillett - I know that he has been the lesser of the two evils in this Axis power era. He made the effort to design (and redesign) the stadium, and was still the main man in the purchase of Fernando Torres. And coming out to tell everyone that they wanted Klinsmann as a 'replacement', 'insurance', or whatever you call it was a darned stupid thing, although on the other side it was a brave admission of error - typical perhaps of the Texas way (being brave, I mean).
George Gillett? Like a snake, he has slithered out of the trouble that brewed at Anfield. Foster, his son, one of the directors at Liverpool, has disappeared for weeks now in the boardroom, and if Dubai do successfully purchase the club in the months to come, all I will remember about him is that he was part of the shorter side of Merseyside in more ways than one.
Some people will ask why doesn't Tom Hicks hold on to his stake if George Gillett sells. Yet we must understand the stark differences in management styles of the DIC and the Americans. This puts Hicks in a thorough dilemma. I doubt he will want to let his dormant partner hold on to a valuable 50% stake and do nothing for the club, yet he's not exactly enthusiastic to look at DIC representatives eye to eye during board meetings.
Having said that, all I want as a fan will be stability for next season, and not all these Infernal Affairs-like drama occurring behind the scenes. For now, I turn my attention to the return of the prodigal son, Michael Owen, to Anfield, as we face off Newcastle United.
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I just want Torres to warm the bench occasionally, that's all.
So says Rafa Benitez, after that man scored a hat-trick in his previous game.
This does not bode well for any Liverpool player who wishes to score a hat-trick, because he normally finds himself on the bench in the next game. Yossi Benayoun got that kind of treatment (not once, but twice); Peter Crouch has been subjected to similar circumstances, although some of his performances this season have been outstanding. Dirk Kuyt has found the net only occasionally - and occasionally is putting it mildly - yet he finds himself starting almost every game, as though he is a star striker.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the strange habit that seems to have become a tradition at Liverpool here. Surely we bought Torres to be the replacement for our prodigal son, Michael Owen? Or did we buy him to be a squad player and spend half the amount on Dirk Kuyt for him to become our star player? It doesn't quite seem to make sense from my perspective. Then again, it's not my perspective that really matters.
People will say "leave Kuyt alone", and I would - if he took the place of Torres more regularly. This sums up the frustration of the Liverpool fan that has seen his team go from the top of the table at the beginning of the season till right now, struggling against the likes of Everton and Aston Villa for the coveted Champions League spot.
Speaking of which, Ryan Babel was once again outstanding against Middlesbrough, and to be honest I haven't seen him play badly in any of the games that he has played so far. To be fair, perhaps he's just a wee bit fresher than the rest because he hasn't played that many games (and not for that long in every game either), so that might be the reason why I'd say he's the best player of our season so far.
Babel's movement and intelligence on the pitch seems so similar to the good old-fashioned wingers that we'd seen in the past with our Liverpool team (in John Barnes) and another youngster now in the Manchester United colours, Cristiano Ronaldo. He takes on defenders. I mean, he brings the ball in front of them, and wrong-foots them with a clever turn, or a dummy, or something like that. The only difference between Babel and wingers like Pennant is that Pennant prefers to avoid the action, and Kuyt just totally fails to be a winger. Babel loves the action, and he gets away from them victorious too. That is why it is so enjoyable watching him play.
Talking about watching someone play, let me go back to the topic: Fernando Torres' first goal against Boro was simply brilliant. Granted, a poor header from Julio Arca found its way to El Nino, but the kid's run - and subsequent slide-in - made the tears come to my eyes. At last, we have found a saviour to our goalscoring. The last time somebody did this - and I swear this is how I feel - was probably Michael Owen when he was still a Red. And that was a bloody long time ago.
Would you bench Michael Owen in 2002 as England manager? I doubt Eriksson even considered that. So would you consider dropping Fernando Torres as Liverpool manager? Well, Rafa's absolutely going to. So forgive this poor fan for sounding sentimental, but I am at a loss for words why poor Nando is going to be given this great responsibility of warming the bench for Liverpool.
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Mincing my words
Well, once again I've been made to mince my words.
So our 2-0 win over Inter Milan means that we look to be going towards the impossible dream once more - to get 6th European Cup.
Dirk Kuyt has now scored for two consecutive games, Steven Gerrard looks like he's firing on all cylinders, and we've managed to keep a clean sheet against a team that hadn't lost for five months before they met us.
And for the next game, Rafa looks like he's going to make five or six changes, and we might just draw with Middlesbrough. Right? I certainly don't hope so, though.
For now, I just want to rejoice about one of the sweetest victories I have tasted as a Liverpool fan this season.
Before I launch into the recent discussion about what is the "best XI", let me just say where we have done well this season.
We have been fantastic in goalkeeping, and it's all thanks to our colossus of Spain, Jose Reina, who looks set to establish himself as one of the legends at Liverpool.
We have done very well in defensive midfield, where Javier Mascherano has been nothing short of magnificent in cleaning up those attacks that may have threatened us this season. He more than deserves that 17 million pounds we may - or may not - pay for him, and even if George and Tom don't know the difference between a good coach and a bad one (no disrespect to Jurgen K), they should know that letting Masch go will be the second biggest mistake of their lives. (The biggest, of course, was buying Liverpool).
However, we strongly need reinforcements now in left midfield. Since we bought Ryan Babel to let him sit on the bench, we need someone better than Harry Kewell to play on the left. Reiterating the frustration of every Liverpool fan, that Dutchman should play every 90 minutes whenever fit. He's 20, but Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo played to no problems at the age of 17 and 18 respectively, and I sincerely suspect that Babel belongs in the league of the wunderkinds. Set him loose, set him free, and watch the lion go. Otherwise, it's time to go shopping for someone more experienced on the wings.
Right midfield is also a worry. Jermaine Pennant has improved in the past few games, but class and form are by far two different things. Unfortunately, he isn't going to quite set Anfield alight, so it might be time to kiss and say goodbye. But he's still the most suitable player for the right wing that we've got, so we should play him while we've got no choice.
Striking is a massive problem. We used to produce homegrown strikers from our academy but because of the drought in the last decade we haven't had the talent that we could have had. So we need to look carefully for talent. Dirk Kuyt was a free-scoring Robbie Fowler-like striker in the Dutch league, but the comparison with our former God has ironically caused the words to become flesh. Kuyt, for all the running, can't seem to score when it's critical - but I was made to mince my words against Inter.
Then again, you can't always count on deflections to score, unless you're Frank Lampard. But to be honest, if he scores a deflected goal every game, he will be loved by everyone in the Kop.
So Rafa, left midfield and striker, go get them! (That's what I would do if I were you, but because you are still the man who won the European Cup, please do what you deem fit.)
My best XI:
Jose Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, John Arne Riise (but he needs to step up a couple of gears with his performances), Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Jermaine Pennant, Ryan Babel*** (VIP - Very important player), Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun, Fernando Torres
We've got 39 points left for contention in the League for us - so let us make it the best fight we possibly can.
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Bellamy's golf swing and more
Craig Bellamy might as well become a Marvel comic superhero.
He wrote himself into the Liverpool history books for all the wrong reasons, having swung a golf club at team-mate John Arne Riise in the now-infamous training camp incident in Portugal. Apparently Riise didn't want to sing - a typical karaoke ill-habit (even in Singapore) - and Bellamy decided to take matters into his own hands.
The first sign of a Ghost Rider: a troubled anti-hero.
While the other side of the world was handing out red packets, Rafa Benitez handed out fines as though he was a Santa Claus - 15 in all, and including goalkeeper hero-to-zero Jerzy Dudek.
Then, there was the small matter of facing an unsettled Barcelona at the Nou Camp. In front of 95,000 fans, something had to give. Liverpool were the first to succumb to the pressure, Luca Zambrotta crossing perfectly for the unmarked pint-sized Deco to head the simplest of headers into goal.
Just as we thought that Liverpool were going to buckle under the intense atmosphere, Craig Bellamy's almost-superhuman movement (coupled with the poor Barca defending) found him unmarked near the left-hand post. His header, however, was comfortably smothered by Victor Valdes.
And then, Bellamy's Ghost Rider abilities became apparent. A cross from defence found him unmarked once again, and he ghosted in to head past the goal-line, even though Victor Valdes tried to parry it away. Spinning to the corner flag, Bellamy teed off with a golf swing that Nick Faldo might have approved to (albeit without the club).
In the face of mounting pressure, Liverpool's defence stood firm and Bellamy turned from scorer to provider, passing exquisitely to an unmarked (how many times must I say this?) John Arne Riise - did I hear that right? - who converted easily with his
right foot. That's right (no pun intended). Victor Valdes and Carles Puyol, atypically in no-man's land: it must have been the Ghost Rider at work.
What made the game even more incredible for me was the fact that Reina's performance was a shambles in goal: he was catching thin air for most of the last ten minutes, yet after Saviola missed from a couple of yards and Deco hit the bar, I thought to myself:
It must have been divine intervention.Or perhaps, as Ghost Rider would put it,
maybe it's something else.
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Living Liverpool the American way
The facts: George Gillett and Tom Hicks, two American billionaires who probably have so much money that they've decided to do some charity for sports, is on the brink of purchasing Liverpool Football Club for some small change of £470million.
And for us Liverpool fans, who have absolutely no say in the matter save for owner-for-now David Moores, it is time to accept this takeover as part of a wave that has splashed on English Premiership football.
Hicks and Gillett are not alone; Randy Lerner has already doled the cash for Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who splurged £9.65m for Watford winger Ashley Young. And of course, the "evil" Malcolm Glazer as proclaimed by Manchester United faithfuls the day the club was bought is suddenly turning out to be a hero, with the Red Devils sitting pretty at the top of the table.
Surely an American presence - or more importantly, a financial one - will be more than beneficial for a club like Liverpool. The money gained from this sale will provide the Reds with the extra edge to push for players they formerly had difficulty in signing. Dani Alves, the Brazilian right-sided player who destroyed Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup final, was a player who wanted to don the legendary Red jersey - but failed to arrive when Liverpool sought a cheaper alternative.
Of course, it was not too long ago when we thought it might have been the a certain Dubai International Capital financing Liverpool moves for our transfer targets. Unfortunately, when Liverpool chairman Rick Parry asked for more time to take a look at the shopping window to see what's available, Sheikh Al-Maktoum decided he didn't get the response he wanted, got into a tantrum and left.
Gillett, however, impressed the board with the speed at which he completed his due diligence - which is the compulsory checks on accounts for potential buyers - finishing the job in just a couple of weeks while DIC took months. He also proved to be quick to modify his terms to suit Liverpool's demands. Even for equivalent terms, Parry (and the board) probably decided that Gillett's consortium had better customer service.
So for now we wait once more with bated breath, as David Moores decides how he might spend that £88m fortune he stands to gain with that signature on the takeover contract.
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The Big Four is now the big four
Let's talk about the Big Four. No, I mean, seriously, since Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have all managed to squeeze into the pecking order of first to fourth positions respectively in the Premiership.
Of course, this weekend's results have been the talk of the town, with Man Utd losing 1-0 away to Alan Curbishley's rejuvenated West Ham side, and Chelsea relying
only on the brilliance of three of their Untouchables to secure a come-from-behind win against Everton. Arsenal, meanwhile, stumbled with a capital S against another Russian side (Portsmouth) at the Emirates Stadium, drawing 2-2 when it seemed for a while that a 2-0 away win might have been the more probable result.
Only Liverpool managed to keep themselves unscathed, but not without missing almost ten good opportunities to win comfortably at Charlton - they did, however, score twice towards the end to make it 3-0.
So currently, Man Utd have Chelsea breathing two points behind their necks, while Liverpool and Arsenal are just a tiny point away from each other, with at least five sides capable of usurping their seats if they slip up.
Yet will Man Utd buckle under pressure? More interestingly, who is the best side at the moment?
Opta statistics don't lie.
Barclays Premiership Table1 Man Utd2 Chelsea3 Liverpool4 Arsenal5 BoltonBest 5 Defences1 Man Utd (10)2 Chelsea (11)3 Arsenal (15)4 Bolton (15)5 Liverpool (15)Best 5 Attacks1 Man Utd (38)2 Chelsea (30)3 Arsenal (29)4 Liverpool (26)5 Portsmouth (25)Any trends, gentlemen? Yes, there is one very obvious one - you must be
both proficient in attack and defence to be part of the Top Four. Portsmouth and Bolton appear in one, and not both of the tables and hence, they are out.
Okay, so let's keep track of Man Utd against Chelsea here. Obviously, on goal difference, it's Man Utd 1 Chelsea 0.
Now let's look at the Premiership top scorers.
Didier Drogba 10
Nwankwo Kanu 9
Kevin Doyle 8
Wayne Rooney 8
Louis Saha 8
Darren Bent 7
Gareth Barry 6
Henri Camara 6
Thierry Henry 6
Andy Johnson 6
Once again, we look at the number of goalscorers that Manchester United and the Blues have in the top 10. More players, more avenues for matchwinners - and Man Utd once again take the lead. It's 2-0 to Man U.
Man Utd also are also tops in terms of shot conversion rate (a whopping 16% - one in six shots!), while Chelsea lose out with a significantly lower 11% (one in nine shots). Man Utd 3-0 Chelsea.
Chelsea, however, have better authority on the game. Opta Stats mention that they have a 78% chance of winning a tackle, while Man Utd have a 75% chance. So a scrappy goal for Chelsea, but the scoreline still reads Man Utd 3-1 Chelsea.
So Man Utd all the way? I won't be behind Chelsea, definitely, but I hope Liverpool stand a much better chance to push their way to second position.
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Liverpool: Selling their souls?
This month may well mark the legendary Liverpool Football Club sell their ownership to a certain Dubai sheikh.
Apart from losing the privilege as a Liverpool fan to gloat that our 18 League championships have been won without any of this so-called "foreign investment" and that we are still part of the Big Four in the Premiership without an Abramovich (or a Glazer, for that matter), I just don't feel right imagining a Dubai sheikh standing beside the statue of Bill Shankly.
How much will the emirs interfere in our blueprint for the future? Will Stanley Park be renamed the Emirates Stadium II? Are they going to force us to buy Nawaf Al-Temyat? Are we going to have an expandable transfer kitty or a contractable one? These are questions that are yet to be answered.
One thing appears to be for certain - it seems that the sheikhs are not going to turn up to watch the Liverpool games. They want to be pulling the strings, albeit from the background, so thank God for that.
In any case I await, like any other fan, with bated breath.
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