Moving On, Losing the Plot, and Other Tuesday Notes

By: Noel | February 8th, 2011

So, I assume everybody has heard how the loyalists of Stamford Bridge managed to scramble themselves a Torres banner, a small sign of welcome for their new striker, but it ended up little more than a xeroxed copy of the flag that always hung for him at Anfield? Well, if you hadn’t, I suppose that now you have. So there’s that sorted.

Oh, almost forgot: For good measure, they included the Liverpool banner’s outline of the Shankly Gates when they were copying it over.

I suppose they can take pride in at least managing to make it blue instead of red, but hey, lesson learned: This exactly is the sort of thing that happens when you make your own flags rather than just letting the club hand you a mass produced plastic offering…

* Over at Well Red, Gareth Roberts talks of the new hope surrounding the club under Kenny Dalglish in the reflective glow of Sunday’s match against Chelsea. It’s a well done piece, with a well deserved smirk in Chelsea’s direction for their obsession with Liverpool’s history and their need to elevate themselves beyond it, at least in their own heads, and even if the reality hardly flatters. Still, I suppose there always is a touch of amusement to be found when a Chelsea fan talks of Liverpool as their rival when the feeling is hardly mutual.

Best of all, though, might be his identification and formal naming of the pernicious, TalkSport regurgitating Liverpool fan who still exists in various dark corners and enjoys nothing more than spewing misguided hatred for Lucas. He calls them Luddites. I rather like that.

* It’s a few days late, but there hasn’t been a link roundup since it came out, so anybody looking for a good football podcast should wander over to Propping Up the Table for a review of the transfer window. Given that one of the three hosts is a Liverpool fan and another follows Newcastle, there’s a good deal of talk of the whole Torres-Carroll-Suarez axis of transfer insanity. Or it might just be that the Torres-Carroll-Suarez axis of transfer insanity was a pretty big part of the transfer window no matter which club is the object of your affections.

There’s also a good overview of transfer action in general, and some discussion of FIFA’s upcoming financial fair play regulations for those who want to brush up on that side of things.

* “Before the drugs got him, before the drink and the strippers and the countless strung-out nights in fleabitten hotels, before the nightmares and the doubts, Dominic Corcoran was a miniature golfer.”

Now that you’ve been baited by his narrative hook, I’ll point you towards Brian Phillips, who ponders the relative ease with which many outlets responded to an already established story–a disinterested Fernando Torres fails to impact the match against his former club and maybe it’s that he again lacked service, or maybe he’s past his prime, or it might just be that he’s still in a lingering sulk–while failing to adequately address the earlier shocking 4-4 draw between Arsenal and Newcastle since it didn’t fit neatly into any pre-existing narrative. It’s tangentially–at best–related to Liverpool, as always seems to be the case when I find some thin excuse to link to The Run of Play, but for the handful of you who enjoy when I occasionally go off the reservation with a Beckett pastiche or some such silliness, it’s a must read on the place for story in how we interpret this sport we all love.

Well, this is certainly odd, isn’t it? I mean, a whole week to wait between matches and all of a sudden I can’t stand the break? It would have been hard to imagine that a month ago, though I suppose at least there are a couple of internationals to half dread, half distract us on Wednesday. In the meantime, while you ponder just what sort of flag might be best for you, have a bit of history…

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Premier League, Team News

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steven.

they have.....uhhhh....gates at the Bridge don't they?
Kai

How else to keep them Scousers away from the Roubles? ;-)
Yann

Hey, the Waiting for Hodgson piece is still my favorite Noel piece – a veritable work of art IMO. It’s what actually made me post on this blog for the first time. And must thank you for turning me onto The Run of Play. It’s brilliant. I love it. I have a big thing for creative writing and making football it’s bedfellow is for me a marriage made in heaven.
Noel

Aye, glancing back at that post I noticed your comment and remembered that. So thanks for sticking around/continuing to comment, and all that.
Yann

Cheers Noel. You're a talented wordsmith and I'm here to stay.
INCABRUCE

I love that he still celebrates on the sideline the exact same way... what a badass.
Ed

You're all a bunch of bastards.

Problem solved.
Noel

Softly softly now, everybody. Let's try to save the worst of our vitriol for those who deserve it most. Like the occasional Tottenham fan who stumbles by to curse incoherently.
Rosco

Have to admit I did have a chuckle at said banners, not sure if it has already been mentioned here or elsewhere but it was great to see the same Chelsea fans who have been chanting ''Ladyboy! Ladyboy!'' from the stands for the past 3 years now speak of how they have always respected his talents. Theres was even some fickle bastard in the boozer on Sunday chanting '' naa, naa naa naa, naa naa . . . . Fernando Torres' Chelseas number 9''

Cringeworthy stuff.
bro

i realy think that in the summer gerrard wil go 4 27 million to real madrid and renia wil go to united coz arsenal can not afford 35 million get out claws. but hey i stil belive that its not sad times co thats a wopping 62 million plus are own money will mean that liverpool is realy starting a new era. we could by a lot of class players. they both wil be a miss but gerrard is getting injury prone and not getting younger. lets build one big new team of class players
Rosco

I think you ought to wear a hankerchief on your chin to catch the verbal diarrhea that flows from your mouth.
bro

why is that. the fact that am not saying i want them to go and that its what i think may happen. it would be sad, but look at it on the good side is what am saying if it does am not favering it.what i mean is gerrards 20 plus goal a season is now struggling for 10. he is getting old injured and past his best thats a fact he is not the same as 2 seseans ago the same as torres but thats not coz lak of passion for liverpool like torres was it coz he keeps picking up injurys and is getting on in his football age. real madrid wont want him if day have to wait againe and his chance may go so am saying just dont be surprised. a cheew sorry iv just sneeez my shit all over u so i ges ur full of it
KC

If that's what you're saying about Gerrard why the hell will Real Madrid buy him? It doesn't even make sense.
bro

Because the Spanish league is slower were ppl can carry on a bit more. And i ment if the have to wit anthor year or so not six months. Come on am are use not listing i don't want it am just saying day have made a 25 million inquiry for him for this season. So he may listin coz it may not come next year.
Teddy

i cant even read this. is is some sort of creole language?
bro

Its because am on my phone if a press a wrong button i can not correct it coz the touch won't let me.
LFC4LIFE

Haha judging by your accent,you deserve to be in the spanish league too.
Rosco

And the fact he's now playing under his boyhood hero and, in my opinion, is looking his happiest in a Liverpool jersey for at least 18 months.
But yeah, now he'll totally jump ship as Liverpool are sure to bin him due to his inability to reverse the ageing process.
bro

ye but that does not stop the same tradition of the best english players ever to play form leaving there boy hood club or the best english club when there hitting there 30s. they all and all do go to play for spain or italy when there form starts dipping and they can keep up there game in them slowere games and wile there is stil some years left like 2 -3 for ppl to stil have intrest. so am saying if he goes gutted but not suprised.
Ryan

'Bro', if you actually want anyone to take you seriously, start writing like a big boy. There is no such thing as a 'get out claws' and it's 'their 30's' not 'there 30s'.
bro

am not a gournalist nor a writer so am not botherd about being politically correct. am talking about football! so ppl can like or not like my oppions on football not my grammer as am not trying to be anything else but a fan of football. its childish and school boy how use all point out that someone english or spelling is not that good. my wrk is in sport i love sport live it breath it and that has nothing to do with my grammer. so ppl may take use lot a hole lot more seriusly talk about football. not grammer this is a fooball page.
Ed

Let he who has not dabbled in the wonders of phonetic spelling cast the first stone.

But really, let's just move along, shall we?
Yann

I've kept really quiet, but I'll tell ya something, Holloway went down in my estimation when he said that, we have not resorted to that, we did want Adam. But I'll tell ya, you can tell him now if he’s not reading this, we're still fighting for a place in Europe, and Blackpool have got to play Villa, Spurs, Wolves, Chelski, and the others, and get something, and, and I'll tell ya honestly, I will love it if they lose every game and go down, love it!

Sorry, it’s been festering in me for days since that pinhead had another go at LFC and I just had to get it out (in my best Geordi accent). I nearly hyperventilated. Whooo.