Virgil Stallcup

Once the initial troll-hopping ceased, the fans got on pretty well. I remember when the Manchester United-Yankee linkup was announced. Those two did not get on well at all. It ended up being a "mine is bigger than yours" contest, which is fitting considering the mental capabilities of your average Yankee/Red Devil fan.

The anger is understandable, gentlemen. The owners weren't good for the club at all. Hooliganism. We're not immune. You see, we have this place called Philadelphia where jail cells and a municipal court are installed inside of stadiums for quick processing of our idiot elements. We have another place called Comiskey Park which often seems to draw more than its share of Darwin Award winners. There was a father/son combination who one time went on the field and attacked a coach. There is one other place called Baton Rouge. Think Millwall--even though the food during the pre-game tailgating is incredible and the natives will either share it with you or throw it at you depending on their level of civilization.

This ownership group has a track record of doing for their sports operations what SoS seek for Liverpool. The testimonials from Red Sox fans should help. I doubt Hicks (who I consider the driving force behind the H&G bunch) ever received that level of support from fans of his teams. What Liverpool need in the worst way are experienced, proven hands at sports management who can put in place a series of processes that will get LFC back to their place among the European elite. What you've had in place are people who played at running sports operations as a side hobby to their other business interests. That is not what Henry and his group are about.

I don't think that hip injury will ever allow him to be a contributor again.

Desperate acts from a desperate man. It is all about the $s. He doesn't have as many as he had before and is trying to come out of this with something he doesn't merit. He never really got it. Liverpool to him was to be a funding mechanism for the Texas Rangers.

You were on a roll turning out strong players from within. Fowler. Owen. Gerrard. It was up there with West Ham and Manchester United. Wolves at the time were developing future stars as well (Robbie Keane and Lescott). I believe a strong club demands a solid foundation of personnel built and developed from within. You can sign any number of all-world talents from Holland, Spain, or Brazil who have performed well in other leagues. But you just don't know how well they are going to adjust to life in England. The football is played a bit faster and a bit rougher than what they are generally accustomed to. Some take to it well. Some do not. When you have a core of home-grown talent in the side, you are better protected when the foreign imports don't come good. No excuse for a club with Liverpool's history and drawing power not to have a top-level Academy.

Good point. And with Boras as his agent, paying through the nose, the nasal passages, and the sinuses all the way up to the cerebellum is a distinct possibility.

It looks to me like the key facets of Liverpool are growing older and no one appears to be ready to step up and replace them when the time comes. A good developmental set-up could solve those issues. But the key for the new owners will be finding a strong football man to come in and make enough wise transfer moves to serve as a bridge to that youth development program. As for youth training, I'd go after personnel at another club where the job is clearly being done and new talent is consistently being produced for the first team. I'd go after Everton's people. The only thing bailing out that Mickey Mouse operation is the strength of their Academy. Get them over to Anfield, with a higher profile and a far easier time attracting young talent, and the makings of a strong youth feeder for the first team would be born. There are many things Everton get wrong. Youth development isn't one of them. Why not go after the folks responsible for what they get right?

I didn't perceive the action as Anti-American at all. I wish those protesting would've chosen the Texas flag. But the connection had been made by that time: H & G=Yanks. It was inevitable someone would do it in a rage of emotion. Bad owners come in all stripes. To be certain, Americans have a mixed record in English football. A guy named Smith owned Chester and convinced himself he could manage a football club based on his coaching experience in American football. But we've also seen some quality owners come in, folks like Randy Lerner and Ellis Short, and serve as good custodians for the supporters and their clubs. For every Jack Walker there seem to be dozens of Reynolds', Ridsdales, Bhatti Brothers, and Gadaymaks running around to mess things up for fans. Good owners are a real rarity. If this deal goes down, then you will have a return to quality ownership at Liverpool.

Think ACTIM Index, then multiply that times 100,000. With that, you'll have an idea of the type of number-crunching that goes on in baseball. I'm a Luddite on the subject. If the statistic is on the back of a baseball card, circa 1978, then it is a stat worth knowing. Admittedly, I'm still someone who believes you should start your best and not focus such decisions on how someone does against left-handed pitchers in a particular field at a particular time under certain weather conditions (And yes, it gets that detailed now). But admittedly I'm fighting a losing battle; baseball is the ultimate game for stats geeks. As the game has evolved, the stats have evolved. Decades ago, pitchers were expected to throw the entire game (even if it went into extra innings) and they were often asked to pitch on one or two days' worth of rest. You see some gaudy pitching statistics from the early days of baseball, numbers that can never be matched (Sox legend Cy Young and his career 511 wins--untouchable). The Victorian pitchers benefited from a baseball that limited offensive numbers, a higher mound, and other factors. Today, pitchers typically work in a five-man rotation (every fifth day they pitch). They are often held to pitch counts and generally do not work beyond 6 or 7 innings unless they have "sick" stuff that is killing the opposition batters. They are replaced by relief pitchers who are measured statistically by (among other stats) Saves and Holds, concepts that were unheard of during Cy Young's time. I'm not even scratching the surface of the statistical world that is baseball. If you are into numbers and are willing to dive deep into the weeds of metrics, then this is a sport that can accommodate such interest.

Big Game James. He's Big Game alright--big game for those placing bets against the Rays. Hitless Wonders can't survive without pitching and defense. Much of what worked for them over the course of the season really disappeared over the last few weeks. They've been playing more like the Pirates or Royals than a playoff club. It has shown.

Just wanted to drop in and say I was very impressed with the way you handled the influx of Liverpool fans and their rivals today. It was an even-handed, moderate approach that many other forums would do well to learn from. I felt compelled to put in a good word for you on that thread. You deserve it. My earliest memories of the Red Sox are from the 1970s. The 1975 series (My mother was a fan of the Reds and a huge fan of Bench and Rose in particular) and the 1978 playoff against the Yankees. Those moments were good introductions to the Red Sox for a little boy. Came away being a big fan of Tiant, Scott, and Yaz from those times. Can't say I've been a diehard fan. Indeed, the 1994 strike really hit me hard and it has taken considerable time for me to get back into baseball. Watching the HBO documentaries on the Red Sox played a role in getting me back to it. I love the energy you guys have for the Red Sox and I completely share with you a loathing for all things Yankee (I have the miserable duty of commuting to Tampa on Dale Mabry and driving past Steinbrenner Park during the work week.).

New poster here. I've been viewing this thread with interest since the news came down in an official sense earlier this morning. Just wanted to let the Liverpool fans know what a class bunch they will be sharing a corporate office with in the years to come. It is an intelligent fanbase with a devotion to their club and sport that perhaps only finds a rival in St. Louis with the Cardinal fans. The core of the support, like Liverpool, are fans who are part of a wonderful family tradition extending to the very founding of the club itself. But you'll also find Red Sox fans anywhere you turn in the nation. There are a great many Americans who have respect for the club and their history and wish them well. Take the time to learn about this club. Get to know the Red Sox fans and their traditions. Learn about their great players (Ted Williams would probably find his equivalent in Billy Liddell). Take a look at that wonderful ground their teams play on. I think you'll like and appreciate what you see--even if you don't get everything about baseball. You share much in common with them. The ownership group? Judging from my perch, they are just about everything LFC needs at this moment in time: 1. They hire quality professionals and let them do their work without the kind of daily interference you suffered under Hicks and Gilette. 2. They are not afraid to spend money. But they will not spend it for the sake of spending it. They'll get value for money. 3. At the same time, you're going to see investment put into your youth development programs. Henry's outfit have plowed money into the farm system (baseball variant of your youth and reserve clubs) and that investment has seen great results. 4. The stadium issue will no longer be held hostage. These folks will do what it takes to get the job done with a minimum of fuss. In your previous owners, you had two individuals who played at sports management they way a day trader plays the stock market. The people who own your club now are quality managers with real experience in running sports operations. The Red Sox are a great club. They don't have the trophies other teams have. But they have a history with a mix of glory, humor, irony, and tragedy that many Americans identify with in their own lives. I think that is a great part of their appeal nationwide. Once you Liverpool fans get a feel for that, I think some of you will be following them as well.