Hallelujah !

Woke up at 6am to see whether London had won their bid to host the Olymics in 2012 (which they did), and what did I see on the second line? STEVIE G. IN AMAZING U-TURN. WOW!

Just how many people saw that coming?

At least one...me (but I dared not have believed it).

When I heard SG was leaving I was a little upset, but pretty numb to the fact and probably didn't care anymore; LFC would be fine, "no player is bigger than the club", "bigger and better players have left and been replaced before" (not sure that second one's true - for an player at least).

By the end of the night when I'd got back from work and seen Sky Sports on Fox Soccer Channel, I was fully gutted. That was is Chelski were going to win the title - NO QUESTION - for about the next three years, and LFCs season would be another one of mixed fortuntes. Watching all the Chelski fans, barely manage to hide the smiles on their faces and even that one Sky (Chelski) reporter was having a hard time trying to look like he was neutral.

There were two things that happened yesterday, pulled my heart in two different directions then:

• Would he change his mind, not if he saw what Chelski's Sky Sports were focusing on, all of the fans that were interviewed were bitter and negative towards a player who, played (in truth) the biggest part in winning us Big Ears #5 (with his goals against AC & Olympiacos). The camera zooming in on one muppet burning a Gerrard shirt (there were probably only two or three watching but the camera never zoomed out so they could make it appear like there were many more disgruntled fans).
  
• And then there was what Parry said, when he was intereviewed by them and asked if that was it, that Stevie was going. It was the way he answered that just seemed to give me the incling that this might turn around and that SG would stay.
  But I didn't put any faith in the feeling, didn't want to get disappointed.

The last time I got that feeling was just after Rivaldo's goal at Anfield, when LFC played Olympiacos in the last game of the Champs League group stages. I just felt that not only could we win this game and qualify, but that we'd go on to win the whole thing! Don't get me wrong I was on the seats edge during the game like anyone else, but I just had this feeling you know.

The same thing happened when I walked into the Santa Monica pub 10 mins after the AC Milan game begun thinking that we'll win (say 4-1). I got in to find out that we were already down by one, that Kewell was playing (?) and that the twat was injured again. Still in the back of my mind I thought: "Nevermind, Kewell will be replaced by Didi soon and I guess we'll just have to score 4 goals without reply!" At half time a three goals down (although thoroughly gutted) I still thought we'd win, although in regulation time, and then I knew we'd win the pen shootout, as nervous as I still was.

So in any case now that SG looks like he's staying I'm going to reveal my gut feeling for this year: the newly crowned Euro Champs (and soon-to-be crowned Super Euro Cup and FIFA World Club Champs) will make history again, by winning it again from the very first qulifying round. Don't expect much from our League Cup performance this year, but there will be a better run in the FA Cup at least (quarters, maybe semis), and we'll be no further off the top than 7pts, probably in third (ahead of Man Scum :D)

More later...

Two sides of the story

• Parry: We Did Everything We Could

• Gerrard Anguish at Quitting Reds

So that's it then !

Gerrard's agent Struan Marshall contacted Reds chief executive Rick Parry at lunchtime on Tuesday to inform him the £100,000-a-week offer made to the England international on Monday night was not enough to persuade him to stay.

While it is not thought Gerrard has put in an official transfer request, Parry has taken the snub as a sign of his desire to leave Anfield, with Chelsea lining up a fresh bid after their initial British record £32million offer for the 25-year-old was rejected on Monday night.

LFC released an official club statement on their website: "The club has made it crystal clear we want to keep Steven at Anfield."

"Sadly, he has told us that he will not accept our offer of an improved and extended contract because he wants to leave Liverpool.

"We very much regret the decision that has been taken."

Parry reiterates Benitez line

Once again shocking conclusions have been drawn, that are based on actual quotes!

In response to newspaper trash Parry says there has never been any suggestions that Liverpool want to cash in on their captain, and said Rafael Benitez wants to build his new-look Liverpool team around Gerrard.

Quote: "Rafa wants Stevie to stay and couldn't have made it any clearer. We still hope this situation is repairable.

"We have wanted to keep Steven all along. There's never been any suggestion we wanted to sell him.

"Money is not an issue. There are no financial concerns regarding Steven's contract, so any suggestion to the contrary is wrong."

So to paraphrase - "Stevie's being shown the door!"

Stevie to stay for Life

After all the garbage that was going around yesterday by the media circus, some normalicy has returned as Rafa goes on the record to state that he want Stevie to say for life.

It's a little different from the media's assursion that Rafa wants him out, isn't it!? But I guess that's the difference between reporting rumours without facts and reporting facts with quotes!

Benitez SAID: "I can assure our fans that we want Steven Gerrard to stay with us for the rest of his career.

"I renew my deal with Liverpool in four or five years and when I do I would like Stevie to be my next coach, assistant manager and maybe even the next manager after me. He can even have the chief scout position if he wants it.

"I want him to stay with the club. We are trying to build a better team and a better squad and I want Stevie to be a major part of that.

"Last season I tried to get Stevie to sign a new deal three times. On each occasion he said wait, so we waited.

"This year we want to win more trophies and that is why we are improving our squad with new signings."

So, obviously, we can conclude that by this that SG's being forced out !!!

More crap !

So we're meant to believe that our captain is having a hissy fit 'cause a new deal wasn't sorted out in a couple of days or that he feels like he's being forced out of the club, boo hoo. Do the media really expect us to think our captain is that stupid? The man has just won the premier club tournament with the club he loves! Do they also expect LFC to be willing to let him go either!? Wouldn't they be pulling out all the stops to keep him? Well he's not, they won't and of course they will!

Look if the man wants more money than LFC can afford then sure he might think of moving, but all this crap that the media are throwing around is pathetic shite!

Let's face it if it's trophies he wants - he's already won several at club level, basically everything bar the World Cup Championship (which he has a chance of being part of the first english team to win) and the Premiership (big one admittedly). He already won the League Cup (twice), the FA cup in dramatic fashion, the UEFA in more dramatic fashion, as well as the Super Cup, oh and that little thing called the European Cup/Champions League! I don't see Henry/Viera/Terry/Lamps/Rooney with as many a variety as those!

And compare winning any of those with some bought team or with the team you grew up adoring and dreaming of playing for, lifting trophies on behalf of - com'on!

Look if Stevie does move on it won't be because of reported training ground bust ups, or the club taking too long to sort out a new contract - it will be because he wants more money (at least more than LFC can afford). All the media frenzy is doing though is making enough smoke for offers to come in and unsettle SG. $150k per week wages from Chelski reported - don't matter if it's a fact, just the mention of it will cause problems!

I for one don't care if SG leaves - I hope he stays, but if he does then so be it, we always find replacements sooner or later. I just hope he doesn't get sucked into going somewhere and have to watch LFC out do themselves again and leaving him regretting his move, like Micky Owen (who despite what he has said, knows he made a mistake leaving!)

Either way just get back to the facts and stop or this pathetic press coverage already!

TNS not Rush-ing return

Total Network Solutions (TNS) have confirmed (what was generally thought to be a long shot in the first place) that Liverpool legend, Ian Rush, will not be signing for them in the hope of playing at Anfield for the Champions League first round qualifier.

It had been rumoured that TNS chairman Mike Harris (a good friend of Rush, who himself was on the TNS board for a while) was going to make an attempt to sign Rush, who still keeps himself in pretty good shape, for the two Champions League games. TNS boss Ken McKenna confirmed, "We will not be signing any big name players just for the Liverpool ties."

McKenna says that he is also worried about his players swapping shirts at the end of the game with their Liverpool heroes, because they can't afford replacements!

I'm sure if instructed to do so by the manager not to swap shirts, the players will duly ignore the idiot. If they can't afford replacements, I'm sure they'd happilly pay for it out of their own pocket, not to mention the fact TNS should make a good packet on the LFC game gate reciepts! I guess it's always to draw on the differences as much as possible, before a thorough spanking at the hands of the new Euro Champs.

Shame that Chelski won't be able to use that excuse this season :D