First Post! I hate it when you look at a Youtube video's comments and there is always that "First Post!" or whatever comment right at the beginning. I always root for that guy to time it wrong so he's the second so his post makes him look like a complete idiot (which apparently he already is)... Anyways, on to the matter at hand (and the main purpose of this blog): the goings-on on Merseyside.
I'll start with the summer transfer window: I felt it was definitely a plus to reduce the wage bill by about 30 million pounds (so about 48 million dollars, for all you dumb Americans like me), and considering we were able to exchange the vast majority of our "deadwood" (like Phil Degan -- I forgot he was still on the club!) for players with real futures with the club, I feel we really did well. As for Raul leaving at the last minute with all the controversy, I hate to say it but I think it really was his decision to leave. Especially with Bellamy coming in, it was apparent that he was going to have a hard time cracking the starting XI, and I really don't think he would have been content coming in as a sub most matches, and so he did what any person who considers themselves a starter would do. I just hope he stays classy and doesn't pull a Nando in pissing off the fans through the media.
As for the signings, initially I was ecstatic for our new boys. The excitement King Kenny presented each one of them with really had me bought in, and to a certain extent that is still the case, although I have come to realize that they were almost more so for the future than the immediate present, which I am still alright with (despite the impatient American in me wanting ridiculous, Messi-like players right now)... Jordan Henderson is a prime example. At first I was excited to see him start the Sunderland game, hoping to see some magic from the England U-21 international; instead, I saw a work in progress: a player who struggled with passes ahead (it seemed like every one of his passes were toward our own end) and could not seem to win any ground battles. This will get better as the long season progresses, so hopefully by the end of the season we can begin to see some of the potential that KK felt was worth 20 million pounds. Sebastian Coates (another 20-year-old we signed) is another one of those for-the-future signings, and I am really excited to see him debut in our next cup game against Brighton.
Oh, the Stoke game. If it weren't for the fact I feel obligated to post about the most recent match, I wouldn't; I simply hate talking about losses. With that said, even though we lost, we dominated that game, with over 60% posession and an 11-to-2 shots on goal margin. How none of those 11 shots went in is still beyond me. A big topic of controversy was the penalty given to Stoke that produced their lone goal in the first half, and quite frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about: on the replays, it clearly showed Carra's arm wrapped around the Stoke player with his momentum going the wrong way, which meant it was a penalty that had to be given. Even Jamie seemed to think so, hardly giving any protest to the referee, which is why I'm surprised to hear KK protesting so openly about it as he did to the media this week.
With all that behind us, I am definitely looking forward to a much better showing at Spurs this weekend. It's on at 5:30 AM Pacific Time, so it looks like I won't be getting much sleep Saturday night. More pre-match analysis (including what I think should be the starting XI) will come in my next post!
As none of you already know, I am currently on a family vacation to Orlando, FL to visit family, as well as Disney world. Since I am from Seattle, this means I am now closer to the UK than I am to home, and apparently this is quite a vacation spot for those from the UK... I've probably met more English people here than Americans. I have also met a few people donning LFC gear, whis has been great (I even met a man today who had the Liver Bird tattooed on his leg!). And, surprisingly, I've hardly seen any scum (for the Americans, it's manchester united, which I refuse to capitalize) gear, which has been refreshing, considering all the wanna-be's I've seen roaming Seattle with their "chicharito" shirts on. Frankly, that stuff makes me sick.
On a side note, while at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon today I was able to correctly detect a Scouser's accent from a guy I was talking to. He seemed shocked that an American could pick out the accent, and I was quite happy about it!
Looking forward to my next post and pre-match analysis, which will come later in the week. Until then, cheers!
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