Farewell Michael

Today Michael Owen announced his retirement from all forms of football at the end of this season, over the past few years he's bared the brunt of many jokes and a lot of hate. Admittedly I was one of them that poked fun at him many a time, whether it be his comments on twitter or his lengthy spell spent on the bench at his last two clubs. Did he deserve it? Well to many Liverpool fans he was known as "Judas" taken from the bible, is he who betrayed. He betrayed Liverpool fans by joining our arch rivals Manchester United but do you blame him?

Lets take a look at what happened, in the 2004/2005 season Liverpool FC went through a change of management whereby Rafael Benitez was brought to Anfield to take charge of England's most successful club. Michael didn't wish to be part of this change as he felt the club was sinking and it was time for him to bail. He was one of the most successful strikers at the club and a darling to many, his child like looks still make him seem like the 18 year old that stepped onto the worlds stage in the France WC 98. Real Madrid made an offer and Rafa didn't stop the player as we sold him to the Spanish giants.

His career at Real wasn't all that he hoped for as he sat there at the end of the season having to watch his former team mates partake in what was to be the greatest final of all time, in Istanbul Turkey. After just one season in the LaLiga he made his way back to England to join Newcastle United in the hope to reignite his career and make the call up to the national team for the Euros. He enjoyed a lengthy spell in Toonside but it wasn't all that successful especially with trouble at management level with the clubs owner and the numerous changes being made, eventually his contract ran out and he became a free agent.

Now at the age of 30 and past his prime, not many top flight clubs would consider signing a player like Owen, he would be lucky to get offers from a mid table club but low and behold, whisky breath came knocking. Having come through the academy at LFC and spending 8 years with the club in the Premier League, he knows all too well of the rivalry and when he signed ,it left a very bad taste in many supporters mouths. How could he do this to us? How could he join the dark side and help them surpass the record held by LFC of 18 league titles? It just didn't bode well with many, including me.

At the end of the day, its business. Like I said there wasn't a chance in hell that a top flight club would come seeking his signature but the (Red) Devil did. Steven Gerrard said in an interview not long ago that Michael called him up when he got the offer and said Owen did what he had to do, he had to look after his career and signing for Man Utd was the best he could get. It came at a price but it was a price he was willing to pay...I'm sure Utd make it up to him in cash. He spent most of the last few seasons on the bench before moving over to Stoke City at the beginning of this season. Seems like he'll be keeping that position as he didn't feature much in their starting 11 so far.

It still leaves me a bit angry to have seen him join United, players who are loyal to the club know better but to completely shun him would be wrong. There are many times he brought a smile to my face as much of my early memories of Liverpool were with him, Fowler and Gerrard. The goals he scored, the runs he made and the pride he brought to the club will never be forgotten and writing his name in folklore as he famously helped Liverpool overturn a 1-0 deficit against Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff in what was the first time a FA Cup final was held outside England. That still remains the best memory I have of him.

Farewell Michael. YNWA

Thats racist!

Growing up in South Africa, I was faced with it first hand. Sure it wasn't as bad as how it was for people much older than me but still everyone knew what racism was. Apartheid, even though well gone now and South Africa being 18 years as a democracy, there are still signs of racism today. Now why you ask did I bring up such a topic? Well its been a while since I did a blog on my favourite football club and after this weekends victory over long term arch rivals Manchester United, the comments that filled my timeline on twitter deserved one. In fact I was called all sorts of things by one person, daft, prick and told I was stupid.

Luis Suarez & Patrice Evra

Lets start from the very beginning. Liverpool vs Manchester United at Anfield in November last year, Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra have a coming together over something and words were exchanged. In the case held by the English FA, Evra claimed he was hurled racial abuse by Suarez, he who then took to the stand and admitted to calling Evra a "Negrito". Before going anymore further, let us ask google what this term "Negrito" means.

the diminutive negrito is used, as a term of endearment meaning "pal", "buddy" or "friend". Negrito has come to be used to refer to a person of any ethnicity or color, and also can have a sentimental or romantic connotation similar to "sweetheart," or "dear" in English. - Wikipedia

Okay, surely Suarez wasn't calling Evra sweetheart but clearly according to 90% of Google's search results it isn't deemed racist. The FA them self did not say Suarez was racially abusing Evra. The charge was for him admitting to using the word which is why Liverpool FC were up in arms over the decision to ban him for 8 games. Yes there was a case to fight but was it really worth it? In South America the term is used loosely but obviously in Europe it is a bit different. With the modern day game of football having so many nationalities playing in the league itself, we're going to get a culture clash of note. If you still don't understand it, here is Gus Poyet's explanation of it.

Dirk Kuyt celebrates the winning goal

Getting back to yesterdays game, most United fans were upset and claimed Liverpool fans displayed racism, yes there was one tool who was caught on camera making a monkey like figure, unfortunately you do get the odd numb skull. We cannot control these things but he will be caught and will face the consequences. Now to claim the entire crowd were being racist because they booed Evra every time he touched the ball, that's a bit harsh no? Especially seeing that Danny Wellbeck and Antonia Valencia were of the same race as Evra and were not booed at. That's a big statement to make, that 40 odd thousand people support racism. Sure we hate the guy for what he did but support racism? really?

Alex Ferguson

Crowds boo players all the time, Rooney gets booed at Anfield, Mascherano, Gerrard, Torres, Carragher and the list goes on, all have been booed by opposition fans, were they being racially abused? Nani is a black player, he put in a number of dives when playing against Liverpool which subsequently got him booed at Anfield, were we being racist then? I'm not quite sure what brought on this reaction from certain United fans. Maybe it was the result, maybe they're sore losers or it could be penis envy, who knows? The fact of the matter is, none of the managers brought it up, nor did any of the news broadcasters (besides that moron who was caught on camera). Evra himself didn't make mention of it at all, Fergie just seem perplexed how his team lost with the usual comments being "we were the better team"...ahem, as one United supporter told me once "If you believe you were the better team, then why didn't you win?"

Kenny & Steve Clark

Now Liverpool haven't had the best of season's but from the past 2/3 it has been an improvement. We have our ups and downs and this past week we have surprised a lot by beating both Manchester teams in cup competitions both of whom are topping the League table and have brilliant squads. That there is some accomplishment, the Liverpool team is still in a rebuilding phase so most fans know not to expect magic from the word go even though we have the legend that is King Kenny back in charge. We still get frustrated at certain players during the game but in some instances they produce moments of brilliance that get us results.

Moron caught on camera

To end off, yes Suarez isn't the most liked player in world football after what he did in the World Cup but he did get punished for it, he was sent off, a penalty was given but Ghana didn't take the chance that was handed to them. One cannot take away his brilliant technical ability and his eye for taking an creating chances. At the end of the day, "haters gonna hate, Suarez gonna celebrate"

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE