25 Jan 2012

And so it begins: Is Reina trying to engineer a way out of Liverpool...again?

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina is never one to shy away from publicly voicing his opinion about the club, and his latest comments are no exception. Reina is entitled to his opinion, but history shows that when things aren't going well for Liverpool, the Spaniard starts making public statements about how bad things are at the club, and - indirectly - puts himself in the shop window.

Speaking to the official Liverpool website yesterday, Reina gave a frank assessment of the club's overall performance this season. He observed:

"We have failed to finish off games and dropped points in matches Liverpool would expect to win. We are a good team, especially tactically, but perhaps we have lacked a little imagination to win enough matches.

"On our day, we are a match for any team and we have the players. But we must show more quality. This is what the history of Liverpool demands."


Reina also believes that Liverpool fans may have to wait a long time before they see an actual title challenge:

"I think it will be two or three more years before we are ready to challenge for the Premier League or Champions League again. Hopefully it will be as soon as possible but we are within touching distance of the Carling Cup final.

"We have not won a trophy since 2006 and it is very important to the club to collect some silverware this season. At Liverpool, winning trophies is vital and we have a great chance of doing that in the Carling Cup.

"Of course, we are still working hard to qualify for the Champions League next season but we know it will be difficult. Liverpool is a club that is used to winning.


This will be an unpopular opinion, but it sounds to me like Reina is - once again - laying the groundwork for a potential move away from Liverpool. To me, he is basically letting the world know that he could be available in the near future.

Read between the lines. Reina's whole statement is a series of complaints about the the state of the club:

* Liverpool are not doing the business on the pitch.
* We may not finish 4th
* It's be years before we challenge for the league/Champions League

As we've seen in the past, when the going gets tough, Reina stars publicly complaining; he even admitted in his book recently that he thought about leaving THREE TIMES over the last four years:

"I have been through three dark nights of the soul at Liverpool and on all three occasions I have questioned whether I should stay at the club that I have come to love,” he declares. On each occasion I could have walked away"

As an example of what I mean, consider the following statements by Reina over the last In the last year and a half:

"I signed a six-year deal seven months ago and I'm happy at the club, but every footballer wants to be competing for trophies and winning things. I know there are rumours about me leaving but I will stay at Liverpool at least until the end of the season".

The key point here is that Reina had signed a fat new contract only SIX MONTHS previously, but he was only committing himself to the end of the season (!). Then, *after* Liverpool had spent £50m on Suarez and Carroll:

"Van der Sar is hanging up his gloves and people say that Arsenal are looking. I renewed my contract with Liverpool last year. But what a player wants, logically, is to challenge for titles.

"I think Liverpool will always be a big club but we have to be realistic and the reality is that right now we are not at the level of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea or Arsenal. That’s the truth."


The overall implication here was that Reina would leave if the club were not winning trophies. These were veiled warnings, not dissimilar to the kind of risible threat Wayne Rooney vomited out at Man United last season.

Now, Reina is at it again; he's making his dissatisfaction known publicly, and I would not be surprised to see further public statements like this in the near future, especially if things continue to go badly for Liverpool.

This is just my personal opinion, and I could, of course, be totally wrong; however, when a player admits he almost left three times, and makes regular public statements questioning the performance and ambition of the club, I think the writing is on the wall.

Disagree by all means; I welcome that, but attack the argument, not the person. Anyone posting insults/derogatory comments will be permanently banned.

Jaimie Kanwar


66 comments:

  1. I think you may be reading too much into his current comments.

    As I've said for a while though, I think his reputation now exceeds his on talent/transfer value exceeds his on pitch value, and as such I'd accept a big bid in the unlikely event that one were to arrive. The thing is, there are very few viable destinations for him, so I can't envision such a bid ever coming in.

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  2. Jay - I think the only reason Reina is still here is precisely because there have been no viable destinations for him recently.

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  3. Read the lines spoken and not invisible imaginable ones and you may concur with almost everything he states.

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  4. I don't know of any Liverpool fan publicly stating his opinions on proclaimed Liverpool-fan-website being so idiotic than you Kanwar. Seriously, what is the sole reason for writing numerous retarded articles, do some hits on the website really bring you that much money that it's worth to write bullshit?

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  5. I don't see anything negative about what Pepe has said in his recent chat. You seem to be picking a fight. I think that your article is helping to destabilise the team and cause damage to the club.

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  6. A literal reading of his comments is fine, but that ignores the context; personal history and subtext in Reina's regular public pronoucements.

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  7. Yes, a Liverpool website is destabilising the club (!) Give over. Given Reina's history, I think we are entitled to look closely at the things he says. He admitted that he almost left three times, which proves that leaving HAS been on his mind.

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  8. ... And when a person finally speaks the truth you're too big of a chicken-shit to let it be published here. Hope those pennies serve you well, because there's few Liverpool fans taking this site seriously, or being of a serious Liverpool fan. Fabrications worthy of the Sun or NewsOfTheWorld for pennies - have fun wasting your time.

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  9. Nothing in what he said RECENTLY suggests anything to do with leaving. I agree with everything he said in his RECENT comments. When the media has a negative focus on a player, it can not be helping the player and I don't believe that Pepe has said anything RECENTLY to suggest he is anything other than 100% behind the club. On re-reading his recent comments, I thought they were well concidered and positive. 

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  10. Just to make myself clear what I wrote first and wasn't posted here because it was censored (and now I've been banned -- if you're such a "crazy-ass I'm the man dude" to criticize everything you feel free, TAKE SOME CRITICISM YOURSELF!): This is the classic and continuously repeated bullshit coming under the keyboard of J.K., making up sensationalist headings and fabricating half-truths or lies to get a couple of clicks (and get a few pennies through ads from these clicks) on this website that's far from being near close to what Liverpool and its fans stand for. And to be clear on this: I'm not talking about not criticizing the club, manager, players and so on - I'm for that all day long. But what J.K. is continuously doing is publicly posting utter crap on a website that supposedly supports Liverpool. Bullshite. 

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  11. Jaimie, you know, quite well that you're ALWAYS wrong!, so there's nothing new here, in your assumption!!.

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  12. Though i like Pepe a lot but if we can get 20m+ for him, i wouldn't mind us selling him. Pepe is a best all round goalkeeper but he is an average shot stopper. So i wouldn't mind a goalkeeper who is better shot stopper than Reina, even if his distribution is not as good.

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  13. Fair play to him I say.....he deserves to be in the champs league but we seem to be content with the Carling Cup ! We have no ambition to even get to 4th it seems as our players eyes are on a nice day out at wembley for englands least wanted trophy ! While that stays our top priority its no wonder our real quality players want out.

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  14. If Liverpool are not winning anything over the next few years and continue to be not challanging then I see no reason why any world class player, who for one is not even from the country, would want to stay at any club, including Liverpool. There are rare cases like Stevie where they are brought up around a club and leaving is not an option. We should be happy Reina is still here rather then gone to a club challaging which is where he belongs. I think he is been honest and I agree with his comments, but I really hope not as long as 3 years.

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  15. He's not said anything wrong. It is reporting like this that stirs up the subject, attracts other sharks...sorry, journalists... and then creates a bigger story out of nothing. If you support LFC do not contribute to the media circus by starting something out of nothing.

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  16. Well IMO he is a professional with ambitions but at least he's honest and the great thing he decided to give the club a chance with dalglish. Unlike another Spanish player. I don't hate Torres for leaving because truth be told the club weren't doing him any favors. It's like my job. Once a better offer comes I'm leaving. But he should've waited til the end of the season and see his partnership with Suarez. Would've most likely been a lot better than carrol. But, at the end of it all, no one is bigger than the club

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  17. Bottom line is: What world class player doesn't want to win trophies? If their current club are under achieving in this day and age they tend to want to leave. Reina is no different. However I am not suggestion he was giving subtle hints about him wanting to leave.
     

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  18. The part where he says at least till the end of the season is a bit scary but I think reina is happy with the way the club is going and can't see him leaving. I never got the feeling from those comments that he wants out

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  19. At this point I wouldn't blame him. He's put in the hours for 6 years now and we're no further down the line than when he started. In fact we're further back. His playing career only lasts so long. Gotta ask yourself the question. I probably would have left a couple of years back.

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  20. If it was not Reina spilling the ball at opposition's feet or letting one under his a*s), We would have 6 more points (Fulham and ManCity) which would put us above Arsenal and Chelsea.

    So it is better he keeps his mouth shut!

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  21. As long as fans continue to care about individual ppl more than the club, we're never going to achieve anything.

    Long term plans my a55!

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  22. You could be right Jaimie, but maybe his comments are just an honest assesment, I do feel the further we distance ourselves from the Champions League, thoughts of departure will not only be on Reina's mind, nor even Suarez, but any genuine world class player at this club.  
     
    With Reina the situation is that he would in normal circumstances grace the number one jersey for his country, however Spain have produced an abundance of talent meaning he will not have an International career ... based on that Club football is ever more important to him and so is playing at the highest level (CL). Issue is, Reina does not really have many options, he has remained with us thus far so I give him credit, but I also feel that if Valdes had not stepped up at Barcelona several years back he would have gone there if they came calling, at present not many clubs need Reina so his loyalty to us is not as clear cut as it would seem.
     
    In regards to his assesment of the season so far I prefer the brutal honesty and the assertion that we will probably not challenge for the league / champions league anytime soon ... hard to take in but it is better than the words of our captain indicating how he would prefer an abundance of carling cup medals over playing in the champions league year in year out...
     
     

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  23. If he goes then we get the most we can for him. Screw benayoun, masch, torres, alonso etc. The only one who really cared and still does is Babel. And we yelled at him  the most. No friendly standing ovations or claps when any of those comes to Anfield- no hero worshipping either.  Times have changed. Players are like condoms. You put one on and you dance all night, then you throw them away. Players change clubs, clubs change players. Depends on who needs who the most. We fans are always there. Can anyone tell me when Reina actually played well or saved a penalty??? A feeble goalie..

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  24. Firstly i think Reina should look at himself this season! He has not been as good as previous years even with having a defence that is almost the best in the EPL, he has had some howlers and let goals he would not in the past! I for one was gutted Liverpool did not go for Shay Given when Man City let him go! He would have been a HUGE asset and we could have made a profit by selling Reina in excess of 20 million!
    I say if he wants to leave, hold out for a price over 20 million and find someone else!
    We need a Hart like keeper... Consistent, good and doesn't need to voice his opinion all the time!

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  25. To be honest, I think he is peddling the same nonsense as Gerrard about winning trophies, which is great, but is not a replacement for 4th place. To be honest, if we could get 20 million for him I would be happy enough to sell. I think that he is making more errors than 2 or 3 years ago, we rarely have penalty shoot outs to contest (bet there's one tonight now) and i think that, for the price, we could get a replacement at half the price. There are plenty of international keepers who would do a job for us and cost much less than Reina, in wages and in the fee. Krul is decent, I also rate the Wigan keeper, there are loads in Europe, the Dutch keeper, any number of German keepers, Lloris of France. Reina's good but there are plenty of good keepers.

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  26. I totally agree with you. Im even beginning to wonder if jamie is even a pool fan. He only puts up bad news articals and then reads into them wrong to make them more interesting or controversial. Jamie you slag of other sites for posting rumours then you go and do the same only with a slight twist. You put words in players and ex players mouths. Putting up articals like this does effect the club, what it does is effect fans that read these reports and lose faith in the players you write about which in turn puts pressure on the players and club! You'll prob take this down or not post it at all but its the truth

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  27. you maybe right here jamie as i agree he has been a bit forward in the past about his future but it may also be giving kk a backing by giving the fans a bit of a reality check into saying we are a very good team and we will be challenging in the future. arguably he could remain as liverpools primary keeper for the next 10 years so if he is right and KK's long term plan comes to light then he will still be at the club winning trophies (hopefully). 

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  28. Rene Adler is available on a free transfer in the summer. Had a knee injury and not gotten back into the side since fit as Leno, his replacement, has done well. Best keeper in the league two years ago, before Neuer established himself.

    Germans have a lot of good keepers at the moment, even Manc reject Zieler

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  29. If Reina wants to leave a "Sinking Ship" so be it. No player is bigger than the club.

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  30. Let him go some of his performances have been shocking this season he should be looking at himself for improvement first before others.

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  31. You are spot on. Reina is not someone who should ever be given the captains arm band , yet after cara its him who wears it. I think with G not playing and Cara on the bench we have lacked a leasder - Reina is not it. If we loose any of the next 2 matches - he will make another statement. YNWA

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  32. CCan you blame him

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  33. Too true. Imagine what he thinks to himself watching this guy:

    http://h9.abload.de/img/carrlol21ljw.gif 

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  34. Reina had team mates like
    Arbeloa ..mascherano ..alonso ..torres ..Luis garcia ..and playing champions league...

    .and now he has Charlie Adam and Carroll and not even Eufa cup and no prospects of improving

    The ship is sinking ...so i don't blame him

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  35. Then you will probably moan about the new keepers distribution and say "he's a good shot stopper, but in the modern era thats not enough". Reina has made two mistakes recently (Fulham & Man City) that's the only reason people are criticising him. He's one of the best in the world, looking for a replacement would be a step backward.

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  36. I don't blame him either AND to be honest if someone came in with a 25million bid we'd be idiots not to sell. 

    We'd probably do something stupid with the money however, like sign Heurelho Gomes for 20 million + Pacheco and make it clear that a £5million difference in price between the two goalkeepers was necessary for the signing to be achieved.

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  37. Is that how you use condoms?

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  38. Don't mind to much if he goes or stays. No top team are gonna come in and pay top dollar for him.

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  39. You're always totally wrong your articles are just copied ones and anyone who comments on them outlining this gets removed because you can't face it.

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  40. You're always totally wrong your articles are just copied ones and anyone who comments on them outlining this gets removed because you can't face it.

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  41. Williams simeon etete10:46 pm, January 25, 2012

    if kenny realy read each player performance i think by now reina could've been a bench warmer or look for other club to go,on my own opinion reina is out of form i always said that reina is one of the player the managers should send the bench.

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  42. yes, Adler is a good keeper. Germany, in general, have a lot of good players coming through, as do Belgium, and I think it will not be long before they overtake Spain as the best team in the world. Anyone wanting to progress could do a lot worse than look at German youngsters to bring to their club.

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  43. A Liverpool website? Seriously?

    You are the kind of supporter that every team dreams of. Selling your soul every article for 30 mouse clicks.

    James.
    You'll Never Walk Alone.

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  44. Utter nonsense, when has being honest constituted wanting a move ....

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  45. Muppet! Whats wrong with what he's said? He's being realistic, id rather he was cautious than making promises we all know are going to be difficult to deliver, more 2nd rate 'journalism' & i agree with some of the other guys on here - you're reading too much into it & spoiling for a fight! We're all fed up of reading shite reports just to fill a few more columb inches.
    Besides if he does want to leave - so what? As we all know, no-one is bigger than the club & pepe gas been a great servant.

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  46. You have too much time on your hands to enjoy your life !

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  47. Jamie at his best again creating something out of nothing....it would be fantastic if this quality is possessed by the team on the pitch more...

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  48. Why would anyone blame him for leaving.. he is world class keeper and has stayed with us through managers that keep stockpiling the team with garbage... if I were him and had to sit there while Dalglish brought in the crap that he has.... he must feel like it's Benitez all over again.. he has a few good years left and wants to win titles... and all signs point to us being a long ways off with Dalglish bringing in so much crap...

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  49. Reina is a good keeper but lets be honest there is a reason for him being 3rd choice spanish internation keeper. If he wants to go and we can get a minimum 25M for him let him go. He is a reliable goal keeper but not world class. Hart is world class just look at the saves he made from last night, if that was reina in goal for city we would have put a couple more past him !!!!

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  50. I dont blame him for considering leaving during the dark days towards the end of the H+G Era and uncle Roys reign, they were bad times at the club and it didnt look like there was light at the end of the tunnel. I cant see Reina wanting to leave now that we have new investment and a manager who is respected as much as KK. Gerrard has also recently spoken out about the dissapointing performances but that doesnt mean he wants to leave.

    I think the comments he made in the past were worrying at the time but things have moved on from then and his comments now are an honest assesment of where we are and that we need to start beating the 'smaller' teams.

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  51. I hate to rain on the " love Reina" party BUT he really is nothing special. He is good but that is about all. Against both Bolton and ManCity last night his faults were evident. On the other hand we unfortunately cannot get our hands on "Joe"! His displays are becoming more and more solid and regular. I know he was helped by our unfailing ability as demonstrated on four occasions to hit directly at him yet he was still inspiring. So if Reina goes it is no big deal is all I say.

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  52. Think you need to get your pessimistic head out your arse and start releasing some positive stuff for a change. Are you a man utd fan considering you slate Suarez, constantly posting negative things and now even if reina does not want want to "engineer" a way out your article will alert other clubs to that conclusion you numpty.

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  53. If Reina is trying to engineer a move, let him, i personally think he has not been as strong as he has been in past years.
    I can understand his frustrations somewhat, we are all disapointed in the way the much heralded new buys have panned out this season, with only Bellamy (a free) standing out, in what has until last night been an underwhelming season again for Liverpool.
    If he wants to go and a buyer in the summer can be found, i would let him go, as has been said countless times you cannot keep an unhappy player, and the revenue brought in from his sale would at present be quite considerable.
    He may have been just voicing what we all have been voicing about the current inability of the side to finish teams off.
    I point to one point in the game against citae last night, Citae 2 shots on target, 2 goals, Liverpool 10 shots on target 1 goal, now i know Hart was in inspired form but a conversion rate of 1 in 10 is very very poor and is a relegation team scoring rate, the defence has got us in 7th place not our strikers or attacking midfield.

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  54. jaimie i only started reading your pages a few months ago and thought this is a great site to get news from but now alls i am getting is negative vibes from your site nearly everythink i read from you is dishing the club some have got reason but this is wrong stop attacking the club coz thats all i have read that past few weeks dont get me wrong some posts have not been aimed at the club but most have.

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  55. I don't know how many times I have to say this: just because I don't conform to your expectation of what a Liverpool fan is, it doesn't mean I am negative. This site is about looking deeper; questioning; taking a critical and analytical approach. That is the way I think - I'm not going to just dumb-down and kowtow to the blind faith mafia just because that's what's 'expected' of a Liverpool fan.

    It amazes me in this day and age that people can be so narrow-minded. If you or anyone else is getting 'negative vibes', then it is you with the problem, not me or this site.

    Do you also get negative vibes when you read general news? Should the press just report that the world is an Utopian paradise where everything is perfect and nothing ever goes wrong?

    I do not attack the club at all, and with all due respect, that is an incredibly simplistic way to look at things, and shows that you are incapable of being objective. Anyone who thinks like that is so caught up in the damaging tribal aspect of football that they can't see the wood for the trees.

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  56. Some of his errors have cost Liverpool FC this season. Let him go if he wants to leave. Dalglish has not helped the clubs position with some of his signings. Of all the players who've left Liverpool FC, only Mascherano in his role as a water carrier in a formidable Barcelona team, has successfully won anything.

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  57. Do you work for the Sun jaimie or are you hoping that always posting negative things about the club you claim to support is going to get you a job for the sun. It's a shame because I respect your honesty but I can't help but think the negativity you seem to be posting a lot lately makes me think you are far too pessimistic I agree with a lot of things you have said in the past but this is just ridiculous you are looking way into this and Reina is stating a fact that our performances have been poor that does not have a subliminal message that he wants to leave (IMO). If he wanted to leave he could have left last summer when arsenal supposedly put in a £25mil bid and the club was

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  58. i agree with telvis88 i read your posts and often wonder what team u really support and wether this is juat a rung on the career ladder for yourself after all controversial and negative posts do get more responce!!!

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  59. THIS IS THE LAST TIME I GO NEAR ANY OF YOUR NEGATIVE BLOGS AGAIN!!!
    AlWAYS A NEGATIVE SLANT ON EVERY STORY YOU PRINT....
    Anyone else find this?????

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  60. jay, i agree with u. Our goalkeeper seems to be exempt from our recent spate of poor results. Keepers from the "lower teams" are currently performing better than him. I think it is time for him to move and let us have a keeper who plays for the shirt.

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  61. Please do not sow seeds Jamie unless you know more than your assumptions.  Every top team has a very good goalkeeper and Pepe is not even the first choice goalkeepeer for Spain. Pepe is a good goal keeper but has made slips that have cost points more than a few times. You will have him playing for City and Chelsea next who demand the best players and can buy them and pay high wages to them. Any theories on who would like to change their goal keeper for Pepe?

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  62. Fail Kanwar, nice try.

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  63. And anybody that doesn't get caught up in the tribal nature of football doesn't attend enough games.As a matter of interest where is it your writing from?...I have a feeling your an oot correct?

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  64. REINA is not totally faultless this season his performance against city in the league wasn`t gr8 & he has had some other dogdy performances to..but i don`t think he will leave us,yes he right about the title i can`t see it for at least another 4 years which pains me to say,il probably get slaughtered for this but i really don`t think daglish (even tho the man is a LEGEND ) is the man to guide us to our 1st premier league title,his buys like henderson,adam,downing are yet to perform & carroll is a waste of money..Suarez & enrique are the only one`s to have made a good impact on the team,il back my team 100% but il give a honest opinon..JFT96 YNWA

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