Ex-Liverpool striker slams shambles at Anfield

Written by: AFP

	Liverpool´s manager Rafael Benítez takes his seat before their UEFA Champions League quater final second leg football match against Arsenal last week. Liverpool great Ian St John has labelled the current boardroom stand-off at Anfield

LONDON (AFP) - Liverpool great Ian St John has labelled the current boardroom stand-off at Anfield "a shambles".

Reds chief executive Rick Parry said Monday he intended to hold talks with manager Rafael Benitez after the latest twist in a series of off-field dramas.

That came after Benitez voiced his disappointment at co-chairman Tom Hicks's revelation Parry had been present at the club owners' infamous meeting with Jurgen Klinsmann last year.

It had been thought only Hicks, his fellow American co-owner George Gillett - with whom he has now fallen out - and their sons had been present as they sounded out former Germany striker Klinsmann as an "insurance policy" should Benitez leave.

"It is a real shambles," former Liverpool and Scotland striker St John told BBC Radio Five on Tuesday. "When you think about it, has it ever worked having two people running an organisation like a football club?

"One guy at the helm, fine - he carries the can. You can't have two people doing it because if they have a disagreement what is going to happen?

"And you have Rick Parry who is supposed to be the liaison between them and Rafa and then Rafa finds out, 'Hang on, he's hiding things from me'.

"I was amazed to tell the truth. I thought, like everyone else, the Americans had done it over there with Klinsmann and that was it.

"But when we heard that Rick Parry was over there. Rafa must feel right out on a limb here. Where is he going to get any support from?"

Last week Hicks called for Parry to resign. But both Hicks and Gillett each own 50 perecnt of the club and with Gillett in no mood to grant Hicks's request, Parry is set to stay in his job.

It has been reported that while Parry went to New York for an initial meeting with Klinsmann only at the request of Liverpool's co-owners and did not attend a subsequent meeting in California.

Despite all the wrangling, Liverpool have still reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Gillett and Hicks's dispute has led to the stalling of a takoever bid from Dubai Investment Capital, a group bankrolled by the ruling royal family of the United Arab Emirates.

BENITEZ TARGETS FOURTH AHEAD OF CHELSEA TIE

Rafael Benitez wants Liverpool to have fourth place in the Barclays Premier League wrapped up before they take on Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

The Reds boss is hopeful a Chelsea win at Everton on Thursday coupled with a Liverpool triumph at Fulham will give them an almost unassailable lead over the Toffees and provide his players with the perfect boost going into next week's first-leg clash with Avram Grant's men at Anfield.
"We need now to make sure of fourth spot before we play Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals," said Benitez.
"It needs to be out of the way so that everyone can concentrate on those two matches.
"We have no control over what Everton do in their game at the end of the week (at home to Chelsea) but we would hope that a win at Fulham would give us fourth spot."
If the above mentioned results were to go Liverpool's way it would see them move eight points ahead of Everton with just three games remaining.
That in itself would not guarantee the Reds of fourth spot but it would give them a huge advantage and allow them to turn their focus on the last four meeting with Chelsea and a potential Champions League final in Moscow on May 21.
"We have not quite secured fourth place yet," Benitez continued. "We need to keep going and win our next match at Fulham.
"I am not really worried about chasing third place now, let's just prepare the players for our next game.
"We must only think of finishing in the top four. That, and progress in the Champions League, is our priority."
The Reds are currently five points ahead of Everton courtesy of Sunday's 3-1 win over Blackburn - a result that, once again, saw both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard on the scoresheet.
The duo have now fired a combined total of 51 goals in all competitions this season and Benitez feels it shows his side have more of an attacking threat this year.
"I am pleased that Steven and Fernando have now scored 50 goals between them this season," Benitez added.
"We have now scored more goals in a league season than at any time since I have been manager, so that shows our improvement."

Paul Hassall 14 April 2008

THE REDS FANTASTIC 4

LIVERPOOL 4 - 2 ARSENAL

WE KICK THAT KIDS OUT

4 SUPER FANTASTIC GOAL !!!

RAFA SURPRISED BY RED CARD

Rafa Benitez has admitted that he is as surprised as Javier Mascherano after the Argentinian midfielder was sent off against Man Utd for what Benitez labelled as simply 'asking a question'. Liverpool slumped to a 3-0 defeat against United.

Benitez explained: “It's clear Mascherano made a mistake but he was only asking the referee a question. Ryan Babel was there and saw that he was just asking.

"Maybe he does not know the referee. The referee decided to give a second yellow card and he couldn't understand. He was as surprised as me.

"I could speak to him in Spanish, so I said, 'Listen, it's finished.'

"He knows he made a mistake but he was so surprised. He is a very good professional who has played a lot of international games all around the world, and he couldn't understand why he was sent off for just asking.

"It's difficult to explain some things that happen on the pitch and I think it is perhaps better to not say too much this time."

BENITEZ BACKS SENT-OFF MASCHERANO

Interview: Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez gave his support to Javier Mascherano after the midfielder was sent off during the 3-0 defeat at Manchester United.

The Argentine was shown a second yellow for showing dissent towards referee Steve Bennett.

"Mascherano was surprised at the decision because he thought he said nothing wrong," said Benitez.

"Ryan Babel heard everything and told me Mascherano was just asking why Fernando Torres had been booked."

Benitez did admit that the Argentine midfielder, who was still incensed in the moments after being shown red, had made a mistake in going up to Bennett.

"He reacted like he did because he was surprised - I was telling him calm down. However, he made a mistake though by approaching the referee."

The Spanish manager added: "After the sending-off the game was over."

At that point, Liverpool were already 1-0 down after United defender Wes Brown outjumped goalkeeper Pepe Reina to head Sir Alex Ferguson's men into the lead.

Mascherano explains his dismissal to manager Benitez

But it was not until the 79th minute that they doubled their lead when Reina was beaten again in the air, this time by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Benitez defended his fellow countryman despite the errors.

"Sometimes keepers make mistakes - these things happen."

United boss Ferguson was adamant Mascherano suffered the consequences as a result of his pestering of Bennett.

"He was booked and then kept badgering the referee," said the Scot.

United forward Wayne Rooney said the red card had little bearing on the match.

"It's always nice to beat Liverpool. We tried to play the game as we saw it and I'm delighted with the win," said the striker.

"I don't think the sending-off changed the game too much. At the end the of the match Liverpool were tired but during the game we always looked comfortable."

WATCH TORRES FIRE US INTO QUARTER FINALS

Liverpool booked their place in the quarter finals of the Champions League with a brilliant 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the San Siro last night and you can now enjoy highlights of our latest magical European display online.

Fernando Torres' 26th goal of the season settled the match on the night and gave Rafael Benitez's side a 3-0 aggregate victory against an Inter side who saw defender Nicolas Burdisso dismissed in the second half for two bookable offences. Liverpool now line up alongside Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, Roma, Schalke and Fenerbache in Friday's last eight draw in Moscow. If you missed the action, or if you simply want to relive it all again, then you can now watch either a 14 or a 38 minutes highlights package online. You will need to be an e-Season Ticket holder to enjoy the action from Italy, so sign up now for as little as 13p per day and enjoy the best of the action from another famous night in the Reds' glorious European history. Paul Eaton 12 March 2008 LFC.TV

INTERNAL AFFAIR

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.