Search the site

  

Grab my RSS feed | (What's this?)

About...

ECHO feature writer and Kop season ticket holder Tony Barrett....

Tag cloud...

Sponsored links

Recent comments

Recent Posts

Feeds

Categories

Useful links

Archives

Sponsored links

Latest Posts...

Mark Clattenburg

Posted by Tony Barrett on October 22, 2007 9:17 AM

Funny how you see the things you want to see isn't it?
On Saturday Mark Clattenburg assumed the status of pantomime villain for the blue half of the city - the new Clive Thomas, anyone - when he cost them certain victory over that horrible, nasty, cheating shower from across the park.
Their anger was fired by two major incidents, the first being Dirk Kuyt's Jackie Chan style lunge at Phil Neville which should have resulted in a red card for the Dutchman.
But the second one was perhaps even more controversial than Evertonians and the national media would have us believe.
Yes, Carragher did haul Joleon Lescott down in the box. There is no doubt about that.
But if you look at the replay again you will find that James McFadden's long throw into the box was illegal because he had one foot off the ground.

Continue reading "Mark Clattenburg" »

Michael Shields

Posted by Tony Barrett on October 19, 2007 12:58 PM

In the very near future members of the Bulgarian judiciary are set to meet to discuss new evidence which has come to light in the Michael Shields case.
With this in mind, it is crucially important that we continue to put pressure on the Bulgarian authorities to right the wrong that has been done in Michael's case.
If the outcome of the meeting goes Michael's way, it could result in him being pardoned or the case being reopened.
Everyone who has bothered to examine the evidence upon which Michael was convicted knows it is totally unsafe and those of us who are closer to the case are able to say without fear of being proven wrong that the Liverpool fan is not guilty.
Obviously, this miscarriage of justice needs to be put right, both for Michael and the victim, Martin Georgiev, who could so easily have been killed when he was attacked in the Sunny Beach resort in Bulgaria in the aftermath of Liverpool's Champions League win in Istanbul.

Continue reading "Michael Shields" »

The Big One

Posted by Tony Barrett on October 19, 2007 9:26 AM

Anyone Merseyside football fan who claims the derby is not the biggest game of the season is either (a) lying (b) stupid or (c) taking the p**s.
There is nothing like it. Never mind your Man Uniteds, your Chelseas and your Arsenals, if you are a Liverpool fan then the game you look out for is the one that pits us against our bitter rivals from the wrong side of Stanley Park.
There may be those who try to kid themselves that United is the biggest game of the season but that is as wrong as David Moyes' fashion sense.
Think of your biggest highs and lows in the Premiership over the last decade and the likelihood is that it is moments from derby games that top your charts.

Continue reading "The Big One" »

Big Mouth Strikes Again

Posted by Tony Barrett on October 15, 2007 8:48 AM

And there was me thinking Tim Howard was the only Everton player with Tourettes.
Clearly, Alan Stubbs has little control over what comes out of his mouth either, judging by his latest pre-Derby outburst.
The first I knew of it was when I got a text from my bitterest Bluenose mate at 7.30am yesterday.
"Why the f**k doesn't he just keep his mouth shut?" he blasted, before reverting to form and adding "he does Benitez's team talk for him every year and this year the fat Spanish waiter needs it more than ever."
Leaving the abuse of the Liverpool manager to one side, I have to admit that, possibly for the first time in his entire life, my Bluenose mate might actually have a point.

Continue reading "Big Mouth Strikes Again" »

Marseilles fans in the Liverpool end

Posted by Tony Barrett on October 4, 2007 8:17 AM

Apparently, according to some of our friends from Wigan anyway, if you go in the home end as an away fan then you're "going to get what's coming".
Funny that because last night I saw Marseilles fans in the Upper Centenary, Anfield Road and Main Stand and no one bothered them.
They celebrated their winning goal like they'd just won the World Cup and were not attacked by a mob of bullies.
They were just allowed to enjoy their moment because, let's be honest, they were not doing anyone any harm.

Continue reading "Marseilles fans in the Liverpool end" »

Trouble At Mill

Posted by Tony Barrett on October 1, 2007 8:54 AM

Well, trouble at Wigan on Saturday anyway when a mob of around 50 home fans turned on three Liverpool supporters and basically battered them all over the stand.
It was the kind of scene I haven't witnessed at an English football ground for years and the worst thing about it was the police just seemed to stand and watch until it was far, far too late.
The three lads who got a hiding were in the home end, a place where they are, admittedly, not supposed to be.
But there is no law against them being there and, from what I understand, visiting fans sitting in the home section is something that happens at Wigan when the likes of Everton and Man United visit as well.

Continue reading "Trouble At Mill" »

Torres To Start At Reading Tonight

Posted by Tony Barrett on September 25, 2007 10:19 AM

Rumour has it a certain Spanish striker will be in Liverpool's starting eleven tonight.
Can't work that one out for the life of me.
The League Cup is hardly our priority and it was only recently that Rafa Benitez was complaining about the pressures being placed on his top players, many of whom he fears are playing too many games.
So for our star striker to start a game of precious little significance after sitting out most of a crucial league game on Saturday flies in the face of common sense.
Unless........Torres wasn't rotated against Birmingham, he was dropped for playing so poorly in Porto the previous Tuesday.

Continue reading "Torres To Start At Reading Tonight" »

Rafa's Rotation Making Us Dizzy Again

Posted by Tony Barrett on September 24, 2007 12:47 PM

Say what you like about Rafa Benitez's rotation system but you could never accuse the Liverpool manager of not being single minded.
While pretty much every single Liverpool fan and every media commentator (expert?!!) is calling for Fernando Torres to start each and every league game, Benitez has stuck to his guns, tailoring his team selection for the needs of each particular game.
In fairness to him, it's not as if his philosophy has let him down since he took over the Anfield hot seat. One European Cup, one FA Cup and runners up in last season's Champions League is anything but a record of failure.

Continue reading "Rafa's Rotation Making Us Dizzy Again" »

Benitez Costs Portuguese Immigrant His Job

Posted by Tony Barrett on September 20, 2007 8:41 AM

Well, let's face facts, that's pretty much what's happened to poor old Jose.
On two separate occasions he was denied the chance to make his position as Chelsea manager pretty much 100% secure and on two separate occasions he was denied - by Rafa Benitez.
Make no mistake about it, if Chelsea had won a European Cup under his stewardship Mourinho would not be spending this morning signing on at the job centre on Kings Road (that's if they even have such a thing in West London).
The European Cup has become a holy grail for Abramovich and not winning it meant he could dispense with the man who has brought him two league titles.

Continue reading "Benitez Costs Portuguese Immigrant His Job" »

Pennant Part 2

Posted by Tony Barrett on September 19, 2007 2:52 PM

Right, let's get a few things straight.
1. Jermaine Pennant is a very good footballer who has improved dramatically for Liverpool over the last 12 months.
2. Last night he worked incredibly hard and, along with Dirk Kuyt, was one of very few Liverpool players who did so, despite the fact that he did not perform anywhere near as well as he can.
3. Pretty much every other member of the team, Steven Gerrard included, was dreadful.
4. The Porto players were hitting the deck at every opportunity and their gamesmanship/cheating was a disgrace.
5. The referee was not allowing players to get stuck in.
6. Jermaine Pennant did not stop Liverpool from winning last night. The performance of the entire team made such an outcome highly unlikely from the outset.
7. Jermaine Pennant should therefore not be made a scapegoat for us failing to win.

Continue reading "Pennant Part 2" »