Parry exit just the tip of the iceberg

The latest twist in the drama that is Liverpool Football Club has seen Rick Parry announce that he will be handing in his badge at the end of the season. It has been greeted with much relief by seasoned Kopites who don’t hold the outgoing chief executive in high esteem after his supposed dealings with transfers as well as the fiasco over ticket allocation for the 2007 Champions League final.

This week claims that he monumentally cocked up a deal to bring David Villa – Fernando Torres’ sparring partner in the Spanish national side – to Anfield in the summer surfaced. Rafael Benitez once said of his transfer dealings at Valencia, “I asked for a table and they bought me a lamp”. It seems that history came full circle when he asked for David Villa and ended up with Robbie Keane. It was only a matter of time before Benitez or Parry walked. Anfield is not big enough for both egos and one was bound to concede defeat at some point or other.

Unfortunately the issue of the manager’s future is now extending to the supporters which has seen infighting creep in amongst the famous ‘12^th man’. Those supporters who demand instant success have been rightly told where to go but the blind faith brigade are now turning on those who are disappointed that further progress hasn’t been made on the domestic front. This blind faith kicked in during last season and was justified to a degree after co-owner Tom Hicks admitted he and George Gillett were lining up Jurgen Klinsmann to replace him but this year those ardent Rafa lovers are clutching at straws. Saying that the club has made progress in the league under Benitez when the team is not nearer to the title than they should be under a manager of five years is baffling. If progress had been made then there would have at least been something in the last two seasons in terms of maintaining a serious title challenge.

Even more baffling is the criticism of those who questions that progress and mentions Manchester United on the verge of equalling the current record of 18 league titles this season. These people think that just because they saw the Reds win a league that they have the God-given right to tell those who didn't that they are wrong because these realists don't subscribe to their theory. I don't expect instant success like the spoilt brats that believe the gospel according to Sky. I grew up with watching the dross Liverpool played under Souness, Evans and the latter days of Houllier's reign so forgive me for expecting a bit of improvement for a team that's meant to be challenging for major honours.

Basically, in their eyes, the fact that Benitez dallied with mediocrity between 05/06 and last season whilst United were adding to their titles tally is irrelevant because they are now making progress? Also, why are the behind the scenes troubles being blown so far out of proportion as the main reason for the club’s failed title challenge? Granted it's a mess and admittedly things could have been run a lot better than they are but in terms of washing dirty laundry in public, things have improved on last season. The Americans are remaining relatively quiet with the exception of the incident between Gillett and a few hundred supporters before the Chelsea match. Benitez had to deal with a lot of difficulty last season but the manager is making himself look very foolish with the comments in the media about his contract and the war of words with Sir Alex Ferguson. Credit has to be given to him for the way he dealt with the speculation about his future this week but bleating to the press about his contract did both himself and the club very little favours.

On Sunday Liverpool drew with Manchester City to leave them 7 points behind United and all but out of the title race. They do not appear to be capable of staging an Arsenal-like resurgence nor are United capable of buckling like they did in that 97-98 season. However a victory over Real Madrid in their own back yard means the manager's authority can't be called into question? Wednesday night’s result cannot be dismissed because it was a major result but it cannot gloss over the multitude of sins that are the club’s domestic short fallings.

Too little, too late?

Liverpool’s performance against Manchester City really has summed up their season so far – plenty of promise but unable to step up to the plate. Languishing seven points behind league leaders Manchester United would suggest that the title race is all but over for the Reds. Despite United blowing a 12-point lead over eventual winners Arsenal in 1998, Sunday’s result put question marks over whether Rafael Benitez’s side can bridge the gap over one of their biggest rivals. The threat of Alex Ferguson’s side equalling a league championship record that has remained at Anfield for nearly 19 years is very much a reality and it appears to be all doom and gloom around the streets of L4.

Too much pressure was placed on Benitez to deliver after a fruitless record in the league since his arrival in 2004. The fact that many supporters see the success of this season as ‘do or die’ for the manager’s time at the helm is concerning as is the talk of potential replacements for the Spaniard. Idle gossip and paper talk has done more damage to the cause than Benitez’s self-righteous rants about referee bias towards United. The Daily Telegraph claimed last week that the title challenge had been derailed by the manager’s refusal to rotate players. Pardon my ignorance, but wasn’t the general consensus that Benitez rotated players too much in the past?

Those supporters who have been slamming Benitez and insisting that this season’s performance is not good enough should perhaps take a long hard look at what the situation was between 2005/06 and last season. Admittedly the squad was nowhere near to challenging for a league championship and finances were not exactly bountiful enough to bring in a player of Fernando Torres’ calibre but significant steps could have been made. In that season Liverpool were eliminated from the first knockout stages of the Champions League, a trophy they were defending after their historic success a year previous, and won the FA Cup. They finished third, nine points behind winners Chelsea but one point behind second-placed Manchester United. The following season they finished third again, level on points with Arsenal in fourth, 15 points behind Chelsea in second and 21 points behind first-placed United as well as losing in the Champions League final to AC Milan. Last season they finished fourth, nine points behind United and seven behind Arsenal in third with a semi final exit to second-placed Chelsea as their biggest achievement.

It seems that, domestically at least, Liverpool take one step forward and two steps back. Benitez’s obsession with reclaiming the European Cup appears to be a key factor. It is not about mind games with Ferguson or an uncivil war between the boardroom and the dugout that has been the downfall of the Spaniard’s side. His determination to emulate Bob Paisley’s three European crowns that sit proudly inside Anfield has distracted him from what Bill Shankly described as the club’s ‘bread and butter’.

It took two penniless Americans threatening to sack him before Benitez finally sat up and took note. Prior to this he always had one eye on Europe and that showed in his decisions. The club’s supporters remained blindsided by it, believing that by the time United were on the verge of stealing their crown as domestic supremacists that they would outwit them and be sitting on 19 or even 20 league championships. The days of lauding that 18-title record they held over their rivals should have been confined to the 1990s when fans were clutching at straws as United swept all before them. Half of their 18-5 bragging rights - 18 league titles and five European Cups – is most certainly going to be equalled this May with United’s 18-3, or even quite possibly 18-4 should Ferguson’s side lift the Champions League in Rome.

When those Liverpool supporters who adopted an all-or-nothing approach this season sit despondent in the pubs around Anfield following the visit of Spurs on May 24, having seen United equal their record, perhaps they should think back to that one night in May four years ago and how things could have been so different had their manager tried to replicate the domestic success he guided Valencia to.

UEFA insensitivity is nothing new

It appears that UEFA have decided to put Liverpool supporters through the mill yet again. Not content with labelling them the lowest of the low and changing the venue of one of the Reds' Champions League away fixtures at very short notice, they have now refused to rule out the possibility of forcing the club to play on April 15 - a highly emotional day for anyone associated with Liverpool Football Club.

On that date 20 years ago, ninety six Liverpool supporters set off to Sheffield for the FA Cup semi final with Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough stadium. Those same 96 people did not return home. They died watching the team they loved on terrace that was rammed beyond capacity in the Leppings Lane end of the ground. This was the darkest day in the history of the club. Red and blue stood side by side as the city of Liverpool was united in grief for the victims. Every year on April 15, supporters join survivors and the bereaved families of those who perished to pay their respects in a memorial service at Anfield. At 3.06pm, the exact time that the game was halted, a minute's silence is held. Local radio stations halt broadcasting for the moment of reflection followed by the playing of ‘You'll Never Walk Alone' by Gerry and the Pacemakers - the club's anthem.

Hillsborough is not just a painful memory for the survivors and those who lost loved ones as a result of the disaster, whether it were in the tragedy itself or the aftermath, its shadow still hangs over the Anfield and city of Liverpool to this day. It touched the lives of people not only in England but across the world. One of the most notable examples was during a European Cup semi final between AC Milan and Real Madrid - Liverpool's opponents next week - held four days after the disaster. Six minutes into the game, the referee stopped play and a minute's silence was held as a mark of respect. Halfway through it the home supporters in the San Siro began to sing ‘You'll Never Walk Alone'.

UEFA, however, do not care. To them Liverpool's past is irrelevant. They are now seen as a blemish on the good name of football. This animosity dates back to May 1985 and more specifically the Heysel disaster. Thirty-nine people, predominantly Juventus supporters, were killed following the collapse of a wall inside the stadium before the European Cup final between the two sides amidst violent confrontations on the terraces. UEFA laid the blame solely at Liverpool's door but days after the disaster their chief observer Gunter Schneider remarked 'Only the English fans were responsible. Of that there is no doubt.' Schneider's statement is backed up by several UK based Juventus fans who were at Heysel and claim that fans of several English clubs were in Brussels solely for the match that night and that they were not all Liverpool followers. Despite this observation Liverpool and their supporters were seen as the sole culprits and had the blame bestowed upon them by other English clubs who were banned from Europe for five years. Liverpool received an additional year in exile for their 'part' in the disaster.

Their love-hate relationship with UEFA has intensified as recent times have proved. Cynics have pointed to UEFA president Michel Platini - vice captain of Juventus and the only scorer in the '85 final - for the seemingly anti-Liverpool stance the federation has taken since his appointment in 2007. Scathing comments he made about Liverpool in 2005 shortly before the 20^th anniversary of Heysel have been highlighted to prove this theory. The comments came less than a fortnight after he had walked onto the Anfield pitch to a standing ovation before the Champions League quarter final between the two clubs to receive a plaque on behalf of Juventus from Liverpool as part of a series of apologetic gestures. In the days that followed Heysel, Platini himself was criticised heavily for his lack of restraint in celebrating the win given the circumstances in which the game had taken place.

Twenty two years on from the horror of Heysel, Liverpool and Platini came face to face again at the showpiece of his inaugural year as president. Athens' Olympic Stadium provided the backdrop for the Champions League final with AC Milan - a repeat of the final two years previous in Istanbul. As with Heysel, events off the field of play overshadowed the Italians' 2-1 victory. Basic facilities for accommodating a game of such magnitude were not in effect with no toilets inside the stadium and no turnstiles to admit fans in operation. This led to chaotic scenes outside the stadium with thousands of supporters with legitimate tickets stranded outside. Director of Communications William Gaillard claimed the next morning that the problems in Greece were typical of the behaviour of Liverpool's supporters, claiming that federation had 23 incidents on file of similar behaviour dating back as far as 2003. He also branded the club's supporters the worst in Europe despite previously stating that Liverpool had 'a tradition of good behaviour' and less than a fortnight after he had admitted that that the stadium was not built nor equipped to stage a showpiece final. In this scathing attack he asked, 'What other set of fans steal tickets from their fellow supporters or out of the hands of children?' He added'We know what happened in Athens and Liverpool fans were the cause of most of the trouble there'.

Club representatives and politicians all lobbied UEFA to retract their statement with evidence disproving the claims with the then UK sports minister Richard Caborn meeting with Platini to clear Liverpool's name. Following the meeting the Frenchman reneged on Gaillard's comments by saying, 'No they are not the worst behaved in Europe. It's official, they are not the worst behaved.' The retraction was a major embarrassment for UEFA and one that has seen them viewed in a questionable light ever since.

For the second time in eighteen months UEFA angered Liverpool's supporters this time with their decision to suspend Atletico Madrid - one of the club's opponents in this year's Champions League - from playing European games at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. The decision came after racist chanting by Madrid's supporters at Marseille players during their Group D match at the beginning of October. In addition to a €500,000 fine, Atletico were ordered to play remaining two home ties against Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven at a neutral venue at least 300km away from the Spanish capital with Valencia and Seville touted as the probable locations. The decision and its timing incensed travelling fans who had pre-booked flights and accommodation for Madrid. Atletico appealed on the ruling and due to the last minute change of venue inconveniencing the thousands of Liverpool's travelling contingent, UEFA wavered the ban for the game. Despite this the federation was severely criticized for announcing the initial decision to move the game eight days before the tie took place.

The possibility of Liverpool playing on April 15 is one that concerns the club who had to appeal to the Premier League over a similar situation in 2006 when their visit to Blackburn Rovers was scheduled for that date - 17 years to the day of the tragedy in Sheffield. Supporters believe that the club should never play on that day out of respect for those who died following the team they loved and were outraged by the league's decision. The game at Ewood Park was put back 24 hours and the situation was avoided. However it could rear its ugly head again after UEFA announced that the quarter final stages of the Champions League will be held on April 14 and 15. Should Liverpool beat Real Madrid in the knockout stages they may be forced to play on the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough. With this in mind the club have written to UEFA to ask for them to consider allowing the Reds to play any potential tie a day earlier as a march of respect. European football's governing body claimed they could offer ‘no guarantees' that the Reds will not have to play on April 15 which has upset and incensed the club's supporters.

Would UEFA demand that Juventus, Platini's former club, play on the anniversary of the Heysel tragedy? Would Olympiakos be told not to mourn those who died in the Karaiskakis Stadium disaster all for the sake of a game? Likewise with Manchester United and the Munich air disaster. It's hard to tell unless those clubs are in a similar situation to the one Liverpool could be in should they progress in the Champions League. Football is a game that is loved with a passion but remembering the loss of human life in a football ground twenty years ago is more important to some than the stellar names and epic draws that Europe's premier club competition now boasts.

Why age is just a number for Mr Liverpool

At the age of 31, and with 12 years of continuous service to Liverpool, Jamie Carragher can be forgiven for making the occasional error in the Reds' back line. But the centre back, described as by the club's official website as being ‘the ultimate one-club player with one of the biggest hearts in football', has come in for criticism in some quarters this season for making such errors. Many have suggested that he should hang up his boots with dignity and hand over the defensive mantle to Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger. However these critics have not been as vocal against 35-year-old Sami Hyypia - another Anfield veteran - who has been as consistent as ever when he has featured in central defence this season.

He may not be able to drag his side out of a hole at any given moment like fellow Scouser Steven Gerrard but Carragher embodies the spirit of Liverpool Football Club, both on and off the pitch. His love and affection for the club and its supporters knows no bounds. The defender has been described as being the club's fan on the pitch and he proved as much when he turned up unannounced at the club's supporters' union end-of-season party, just hours after he had played in his side's 1-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield. He is a modern-day Gerry Byrne - a local lad and a one-club man. Carragher draws further comparisons with Bill Shankly's legendary left back with his courage. Admittedly Carra did not endure a broken collarbone in a cup final but he did battle on valiantly with the pain of cramp in Istanbul four years ago and limped off with a broken leg in a league game against Blackburn in 2003. The pain barrier is something that rarely fazes the Bootle-born vice captain.

He really is a rare breed of a player in the modern game. Throughout every season half of Liverpool's first team are linked with moves away from the club, there is one name that never crops up in paper talk. Perhaps it is down to his no-nonsense style that stands out in a highly partisan Premiership or maybe it is his vocal and passionate loyalty to the cause but one player who isn't linked with anyone from Hull City to AC Milan is Jamie Carragher. Words cannot describe how much he symbolises the pride, grit, determination of Shankly's 1960s invincibles.

The Champions League, the Freedom of Sefton and even a league championship medal are more than fitting rewards for a man who has given his all to the club he has been part of since a very young age. He is still in the best form of his career and Mr Liverpool shows no signs of slowing down.

Make history, not war

Between April and August 1898, the United States and Spain were locked in military conflict over the liberation of Cuba. The battle extended across the Caribbean and Asia. A similar situation has been ongoing at Anfield since late 2007 between American owners and a Spanish manager that has spanned two continents also.

Since David Moores relinquished powers of Liverpool Football Club two years ago this month, the once proud footballing institution that still serves as a source of strength to its supporters in the city and beyond has become the battleground for personal disputes between the boardroom and the dugout. As Moores sits in the directors’ box at Anfield on match days under the guise of the club’s Honoury Life President, the title he now possesses carries little weight on the club’s board in comparison to the muscle George Gillett and Tom Hicks possess as owners.

Prior to the visit of Chelsea at the start of the month, the Daily Mirror’s Brian Reade – a lifelong Liverpool supporter himself – called on all parties involved in the far from civil war ongoing between Melwood and the United States and I apologise sincerely to Mr Reade in advance if this article cheapens his well-written piece.

The power struggle between Gillett, Hicks and Reds’ manager Rafael Benitez has been nothing short of tedious and embarrassing for all supporters of Liverpool, even if it has not been for the men at the forefront. The war of words that has been played out in the media since November 2007 doesn’t appear to show any signs of letting up, although Tom Hicks’ attempt to put a positive spin on affairs at L4 would make the great spin doctor himself Alistair Campbell proud. Despite previously confessing to approaching Bayern Munich manager Jurgen Klinsmann about the prospect of the then jobless German replacing Benitez in the managerial hot seat, Hicks insisted that the decision was only taken as an ‘insurance policy’ if the Spaniard had left the club for Real Madrid or Inter Milan – positions he had been linked to last season.

Prior to becoming embittered in mind games with Sir Alex Ferguson, Benitez had previously targeted the club’s owners with the uncomfortable and now infamous press conference where he repeated the phrase “As always I am focused on training and coaching my team”, eight times in total. This was in retaliation to comments by Tom Hicks that the Reds’ manager should, “quit talking about new players and to coach the players we have”. Clearly this wrangled Benitez who decided to transfer his gripe with the owners to his pre-match press conference. Several days later Benitez was on the touchline at St James Park to see his Liverpool side beat Newcastle 3-1. The manager was sporting a tracksuit, a rarity for the usually suited and booted Benitez. This was, according to rumour at the time, a final show of defiance against Gillett and Hicks with Benitez showing that he served the club and not its proprietors. Speculation intensified that the Liverpool manager had resigned and what had developed from internet hearsay was now making the back pages of national newspapers claiming that the Kop boss had walked. The Americans claimed there was ‘nothing new to say’ but would not comment on Benitez’s future aside from saying they would meet with the manager the following month to ‘to make decisions on the team's requirements’.

Benitez was very much still in limbo and four days on from the Newcastle game, thousands of Reds’ supporters marched on Anfield before the Champions League clash with FC Porto in a unified show of support behind their manager. Liverpool strolled to a comfortable 4-1 win against the Portuguese champions but there was only one thing on the manager’s mind that night. "I want to say thank you to our supporters because I think that they were as always magnificent," said Benitez. "The most important thing is the team so I say thank you for the support. To the players it was important as I said before the game and it was also for me, so I say a thank you, a big thank you." The warring factions sat down and came to an amicable agreement following a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Anfield in mid-December and all seemed to be right with the world again.

However a month later the Spanish-American war was reignited when Hicks revealed that the rumours he and Gillett had held talks with Klinsmann were true. “We attempted to negotiate an option, as an insurance policy, to have him become manager if Rafa left for Real Madrid or other clubs that were rumoured in the UK press,” he told the Liverpool Echo at the time. “Or in case our communication spiralled out of control for some reason.” It was also revealed that the owners would have tried to replace Benitez had Liverpool been eliminated from the Champions League as well as talks over a sale of the club to Dubai Intenational Capital stalling. A trophy less campaign ensued and Benitez began to strengthen his squad with £20.3 million Robbie Keane at the forefront of this. However Keane’s time on Merseyside was short-lived and he was sold back to Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window as he appeared to be second on the manager’s list of transfer targets. That top honour went to Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry.

Benitez had publicly courted a deal for the England midfielder but when Villa increased their valuation of him to £18 million, Reds’ chief executive Rick Parry indicated that the club would not be held to ransom by them. Despite publicly intimating his desire to move to Anfield, to a national newspaper no less, Barry remained at Villa Park. Benitez was yet again irate with the club’s hierarchy and, yet again, transferred those feelings to his pre-match press conference before the opening fixture of the season away to Sunderland. 'Talk to me about football and Sunderland,” he fumed, amidst questions about Barry and the future of Xabi Alonso – reported to be the fall guy for Barry to make way. “You can talk about other things with Rick Parry." This admission by the manager hinted that he had very little say in negotiations for the Vila captain. Days after the comments Benitez and Parry displayed a unified front but the precedent had been set, which is why reports that Benitez was demanding more control in transfer dealings as part of his new contract came as no surprise to Reds’ fans. Although he has dismissed these rumours, Benitez is still at war with the Americans.

However more pressing issues are unresolved at Anfield, most notably the small matter of winning a league championship for the first time since 1990. Liverpool have performed well so far this season to get where they are now and they could end that 19-year wait for the crown. However, as Brian Reade has said before me, the main players in the Spanish-American war need to set aside their difference for the good of the club.