Petition for ITV to show Hillsborough Disaster documentary There is a petition at http://hillsborough.mlm-heaven.com/main/index.php which can be signed asking ITV Television to air a documentary about the Hillsborough Disaster--a documentary which shows the truth and the evidence. Hillsborough April 15th 1989 You'll Never Walk Alone
Right - that time of year again - I have been invited to the next of the Fans Forums for liverpoolfc.tv. May 8th. As last year, please post any suggestions, comments you have with regard to the site here and I will do my best to represent your views to the club. To be honest, last year was a bit of whitewash, all they were interested in was whether we liked the e-Season ticket or not. But in this instance the exercise is a precursor for a full redesign of the site, apparently, so maybe this time more substantive input will be possible. Anyway, you don't get if you don't ask, so fire away.
Thank you Matt. Stig would be interested in free audio match commentary, with a sympathetic bend to supporters with dialup access. That is Stig's wish for the unwashed masses. For paying customers, the popup adverts are annoying and, even after signing in to the expensive e-Season Ticket, the popups continue. Free Stig from this tyranny! Otherwise, the Web site appears to be a work in progress, and excels in many respects. Cheers, Stig
Noted. Although I would say that this was raised last time also. They defend charging for commentary by pointing to the cost of providing it (not a brilliant line, given that the likes of Norwich can provide free audio comms). The pop-up ads is a good one - I will be sure to raise that. Bugs the crap out of me too.
Ask them if there is a position available at the club for an American who loves the club, but whose footy knowledge is second only to his good looks and charm. I hate those ads as well. Also, I have a cable modem, and it still takes the pages ages to load.
Dear Liverpool supporter, It was a well deserved win against Fulham on Saturday. Michael Owen and Milan Baros had so many chances and we should have sealed this game long before we did. If Milan had scored from a wonderful move towards the end it would have been one of the best goals in the Premiership scored all season. We played some great football at times and it was a very good Liverpool performance. At times we gave the ball away but I don't mind players doing that or making mistakes, because I want them to take the initiative. A good team always responds and I told the boys I enjoyed their attitude in training this week. They were determined to do well as they showed in this match. Unfortunately Danny Murphy had to pull out before the game. He couldn't even warm up as he had a stiff neck which was too sore. Vladi did well, he made two goals and could have scored himself. There are five games to go now and we know what we have to do. It's not about nerves. It's a question of winning matches as you can't have nervous players. Next up for us is the derby and a battle for the Champions League spot. It's an exciting challenge for both sides. Regards, Gerard Houllier Liverpool Manager
Everton v. Liverpool Dear Liverpool supporter, This derby was a challenge and a real opportunity to please the fans. This victory came at the right time, because we attended the Hillsborough Memorial service midweek. I dedicate this win to the families who lost loved ones at Hillsborough. I said to the players before this game to take it as a challenge and that it was a chance to prove yourselves, bring some success for the club and win it for the fans. This was a massive win. We were already without Sami and Stephane then Igor had to go off with a knock to the top of his hip. We almost lost our goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek who had a strained groin. He stayed on and played through the pain barrier. Jerzy epitmoised the spirit of the team. I must pay credit to Salif who is not a right back. He had to come on and we had no choice but to play him at right back and he did a great job. You can play Jamie Carragher anywhere and he does a great job for you. We are so pleased with this win as Everton are a great side. Danny scored a fine goal and could have had another one moments later with a shot that went just wide. We created good chances. Emile Heskey had a great chance, Milan Baros had a great chance when he headed down and it went over. Michael Owen had a chance and would have scored but was brought down. Don't ask me to talk about other results and other teams. There is a long way to go and we are just concentrating on what we have to do. Regards, Gerard Houllier Liverpool Manager
Charlton Report Dear Liverpool supporter, My players tested my nerves and heart against Charlton and my surgeon will be pleased we won! There have been so many games where we have played teams off the park here and only got a draw or lost so we will take this win today. We were a bit lucky and we have to admit that. Stevie's goal epitomised the spirit of the team and it was a great goal. This is why I made the double substitution because I wanted Stevie out wide. He looked to have an incredible energy level and he kept going. Some of the players who were magnificent in the derby were not as inspirational today. Sometimes after a derby with the pressure of it they can then go into anti-climax and some of our key players at Goodison didn't have the isnpriration today. We looked flat but what we have got is commitment and a fighting spirit to keep it going right until the end of the match. The character of the players is exceptional. Jerzy made a great save just after we equalised. Charlton's effort surprised me, I must say. They denied us time and space and they played well in the first half. We then gave them an Easter gift, an egg! After that it was very difficult. This game was a reflection of our season, we made a mistake, we went through a difficult period in the game but we kept going and got the win. Once we scored the equaliser I thought we could get the second. That certainly wasn't the Charlton side I saw in the video! Now we have three games to go and we know what we have to do. I firmly believe we'll get there. Regards, Gerard Houllier Liverpool Manager
Completely off-topic, but please vote for your adopted city in the UK Capital of Culture bid http://www.bbc.co.uk/capitalofculture Liverpool for European Capital of Culture, 2008.
GH post-match Letter, WBA v. LFC Dear Liverpool supporter, It is special for Michael to score 100 goals in the Premiership and his four goals against West Brom at the weekend were outstanding. Michael's all round game has improved a great deal. You only succeed in this job if you have 100% effort, which he always gives. He has good skill, his left foot has improved, his heading is a lot better and his link up play is very good. He is a lot stronger and rarely gives the ball away. I always encourage him to take the initiative in the right areas. He is like Ian Rush in tackling defenders and not giving them a moments peace. Michael and Milan's partnership was brilliant. They had so many chances together and caused all sorts of problems for the West Brom defence. They are two very young players and exciting to watch. Milan created the first goal for Michael and his hat-trick. I like that. It shows great unselfishness and they work together as a partnership, creating chances and goals. Michael is doing a lot of work with the medial staff to get even stronger. He is still only 23 and he needs to stay strong. I think he will probably get his next 100 Premiership goals for Liverpool a lot quicker than his first. Never mind the result on Saturday, we played very well. Our passing and movement was brilliant and the game could and probably should have been settled by half-time. I was pleased with the way we played. We have a challenge ahead, we know what we have to do and we will give it our best shot and see what happens. Regards, Gerard Houllier Liverpool Manager
I told the players a draw would have been a good result before the game. Dear Liverpool supporter, The game on Saturday practically summed up our season. We had enough chances to win the game but didn't take them. Peter Schmeichel made four world class saves, two in the first half and two in the second. I thought the City penalty was harsh and I feel hard done by because we should have had a penalty in the first half. Milan Baros was clearly fouled and I couldn't believe it when the linesman gave City a free-kick. I just could not believe it! We conceded the second goal because we were pushing forward trying to get the result. It was a difficult second half for us but we scored first, and then two mistakes at the wrong time in the wrong areas of the pitch cost us. The boys will learn from that though. I told the players a draw would have been a good result before the game. Now we know what we have to do and we are in the same position as we were before the game. Ten games ago nobody would have said we would be in the Champions League but we have gone on a good run and now we have to win at Chelsea next Sunday. It's a final and we like finals! I would like to thank all the Liverpool fans for their support this season and we will need you at Chelsea next week. Regards, Gerard Houllier Liverpool Manager
I went tot the latest website forum yesterday and had a preview of the new site concepts the club have for liverpoolfc.tv. Interesting. All were at an early stage, but one of them was a distinct improvement on the current cluttered affair. They've ditched the background images and the deep red tones to everything and gone with mainly white and red as a secondary colour. The ads have been pushed down and to the right-hand side only and the content panels are much larger. New services will include a games section, a much expanded archive and player profile section, a feed from Opta Stats for all Liverpool players (a la the programme and LFC magazine), increased votes and a New Stadium section with a webcam, so you can view progress live, plus interviews and news reports etc. Interesting session, lots of gossip from the club etc. Mostly spurious, but one was interesting. One of the lads asked whether there could be an official club transfer comment section (as opposed to the current "what the papers say" third-hand way of presenting it) and one club wallah flat out said 'No'. The reason is that during the compensation trial between Boro and LFC over the Ziege transfer, the Boro lawyers alleged that the club had actively encouraged rumours and/or news stories of the move ahead of it having been agreed. When the LFC lawyers denied this, the Boro lot pulled out loads of print-outs from the website where exactly that sort of content had been published. As a result, the club deemed such content to be prejudicial to their chances of making signings and (presumably) of hindering their various, hahem, "approach methods". So reportage on known targets are banned once a real move is being made. The chap ended this little tale with the words "We're now banned from mentioning Cisse - make of that what you will". Anyway - here's a bit of fun for you all: for attending, we were each given £30 in cash and a month's free access to the e-Season Ticket. Now, I'm keeping the 30 knicker (sorry!) but as I already have an e-Season ticket, I thought I would give it away here (it's a voucher with an activation code) to one of you, my good regulars. So - answer the following question, by PM, to me. Deadline is 24 hours from now, 13.19 BST. First PM (timed by my Bigsoccer BST time setting) gets a PM with the activation code and the instructions. Obviously, this is only open to those of you who have not already got an e-Season ticket. Bit pointless otherwise. I am also going to trust you not to do mad google searches (some allowed, it's only a bit of fun) or post this question elsewhere and tout for answers. So, here goes: How many Englishmen played in the 1981 European Cup final?
Right, the winner is KopiteinKC. Samarkand got in at roughly the same time, but mistook David Johnson (English, played in this game) for Craig Johnston (Aussie, did not) and thus gave the answer as 9, when, in fact, it was of course 10. Clem, Neal, Razor, Barney Rubble, Thommo, Sammy Lee, Johnson, Terry Mac, Case on for Dalglish as a sub and, of course, Lawrie Cunningham for Real Madrid.
Dear Liverpool supporter, First of all we must congratulate Chelsea for their win. It was a special game for both teams but I personally don't think we lost out on the Champions League at Stamford Bridge. We should have come here five or six points ahead at Chelsea but we have lost it at Anfield during that bad period when we couldn't win a game. We had a blistering start but just let it slip. Despite the defeat by Manchester City last week our last 10 games were okay but it wasn't enough. There's no point in having regrets and we have to look to the future which is the way for success. We finished fifth, we won a final against Manchester United. I wouldn't say it's a disappointing season but we can improve and do better. When you progress like we have in the last three years you do get phases when some players were not as good as they have been previously. Some of our key players have not been as good as they have been and we have missed Stephane Henchoz who has been injured, which was a blow. It has been a long season. I thought once we scored we would win the game but we conceded straight away. Chelsea started more nervous than we did and if we had gone to half time leading that would have put them under pressure. We didn't perform well and some players maybe felt too much pressure out there. Stevie's sending off was frustration more than anyone else. I've spoken to Le Saux and he said it wasn't that bad. Stevie has been a driving force in midfield for us and you look at him, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, they are committed players who go in for tackles. I wish I had a couple more players like Stevie Gerrard! We will now be working hard through the summer to plan and prepare for next season and we look forward to your continued and loyal support. Thanks for all your support this season. Regards, Gerard Houllier Liverpool Manager
Thanks for the info, Matt. It seems that the pop-ups aren't as prolific right now, although different varieties are in play currently. Stig's still not interested in "The Arndale" pop-up, especially. Same news as last time about free vs. fee-based audio commentary? Thanks, Stig
And he's given the #3, in case LB is trying to figure out who to get on the back of the new away shirt (they've already got it listed in the shop). http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N140564030612-0917.htm
Number 3 shirt Last owner seen near North Pole, answers to small children's requests, hangs out with elves, gets stuck in chimney's a lot, doesn't shave.