IT WILL be like turning back the clock when Burnley come to visit Anfield this weekend. But in truth this one is more about us turning the screw on them. Burnley were a very well respected top flight side in the 1960s and many people were pleased to see them get promoted last term through the play-offs. But the fact they are newcomers who’ve been away so long certainly doesn’t mean there is an easy match in prospect. There are warning signs for Liverpool that they need to pay attention so they are bang on top of their game from the kick-off. They have already beaten Manchester United and Everton, so to underestimate Burnley would be foolish. Bill Shankly always used to tell us that he hoped we met newly promoted teams well into the season, rather than near the start of it, because they were so full of energy and excitement they could cause you problems. As the season progressed, they would usually dwindle away and it’s easier to face them then – just look at the example of Hull last season. It proves Shanks’ case. With the two recent defeats to Spurs and Villa, Liverpool have given themselves little margin for error now and as we all know, it was against the so called lesser sides at home that we slipped up last season. It proved very, very costly. If we are to claw our way back to the top of the table sooner rather than later, then we’ve got to see everyone heeding the advice and not taking Burnley lightly for a second. You have to work so hard in every game to impose yourselves and get a result, so if anyone in a red shirt thinks Burnley should be a pushover, they’d better think again. Ryan Babel should keep quiet I’M not surprised Rafa Benitez has come out and all but publicly told Ryan Babel in particular, to shut up and get on with it. Players always have their moments with managers and always have done. I had one or two myself with Shanks but the difference was that it never made headlines and was always kept private. Liverpool have invested a lot of faith and money in Ryan Babel and he’s been given plenty of public support by a manager who is frankly entitled to be losing patience in him now. Babel has put himself in the last chance saloon by suggesting he’s not happy at one of the world’s greatest football clubs and suggesting he wants to go back to Ajax. He’d be better advised to take his rollicking on the chin and respond. Because Babel had better start firing soon – or it’s him who will be run out of town!
ALL this fuss about youngsters being tempted away from foreign clubs and into the hands of Premier League sides just shows you how much money is dominating the modern game.
Liverpool was the only club I ever wanted to play for. I remember when I was about 16 or 17 Shanks calling me aside after training and telling me Manchester United had put in a bid of about £50k each for both myself and Chris Lawler. Before I could say a word – or perhaps that should be two words – he made it clear he had no intention of selling either of us to anyone, let alone United. I’m just glad in my day players usually played for teams that meant the world to them, rather than for clubs who just paid them staggering wages and for whom they felt little or nothing.
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