Alex Ferguson the Whisky Bottlehead nose

Who would have thought it? Alex Ferguson verbally attacks another manager for their arrogant behaviour, only to go and do exactly the same thing himself. His latest mumblings really are "beyond the pale."

But the Scotsman's latest verbal attack, or mind games as some would try to make you believe, is nothing new. It is old and irritating—much like Ferguson himself.

Normally, the United manager would leave his "mind games" until the tail-end of the season hoping to derail his rival's title charge, or before another team's crucial games. But it seems he just couldn't wait that long before getting out his famous little book of hypocrisies, and his smug little grin that smacks of a disturbed old man, lost in his own delusions of grandeur.

If you speak to a few less-than-intelligent United or Everton supporters about Rafa Benitez, amongst other rabid ramblings, they will be quick to tell you how arrogant the Spaniard is. They will harp on about an incident from a couple of seasons ago where Rafa claimed Everton was a "small club."

Notice how I used quotation marks when I wrote "small club."

Quotation marks, as you undoubtedly know, are used when a person says the exact words mentioned within the quotation marks. So, if you had not read the orginal quote from Rafa Benitez, you would rightly assume that he said the words "small club" when talking about Everton.

Read a few headlines or articles from national newspaper about the "small club" incident, and you get the same intentionally misleading paraphrasing and misquotation that you get from idiotic football supporters, reveling in their ingrained hatred that has been passed down from previous generations.

Arrogant Liverpool manager calls Everton a "small club."

What Benitez actually said was: "When you play against the smaller teams at Anfield you know the game will be narrow and compact and at times we were a little bit nervous."

No mention of the word "club" and no mention of the word "small" either.

If you listen to Ferguson's moans about Benitez and the incident, without hearing the actual quote from the Liverpool manager beforehand, you would be forgiven for thinking Benitez really did say what many are trying hard to make out.

Ferguson confidently states: “Benítez called Everton a small club, which just points to his arrogance," as well as "'Everton are a big club, not a small one which Benitez arrogantly said," (this quote came two years after the original "small club" incident).

This brings us nicely back to the subject at hand.

Manchester City have constructed a sky-blue billboard with the words "Welcome to Manchester" under a picture of their new signing, Carlos Tevez. Many have read into this as being a subtle dig at United, and Ferguson's response to this was to say: "It's City isn't it? They are a small club with a small mentality, all they can talk about is Manchester United."

Manchester City have won the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice, and the top flight English title on two occasions.

City are without doubt, in terms of honours, a smaller club that Manchester United. But to state that city is a small club can be considered quite arrogant and a touch disrespectful, surely?

If Ferguson is going to tell the world and his wife how "arrogant" Benitez is for saying Everton is a smaller team than Liverpool, then calling City a small club, according to Ferguson's very own moral standards, must be ridiculously worse than what Benitez actually said.

But for me, the disturbing thing is not the senile "mind games" of an old man paraded as an angel, but the way some United supporters consistently jump to Ferguson's defence and incredibly ignore any form of hypocrisy that pours from his mouth.

I love football. I am a massive supporter of football.

I think Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world and last season they had one of the best squads ever constructed in English football. They play some sublime football and a major contributing factor is the intelligence and ability of their manager of 23 years, Alex Ferguson.

But I still hate the man.

Not because I'm jealous. Not because I'm biased. Certainly not because I support Liverpool. But because these are the type of people I despise in everyday life. The arrogant people who appear to believe they don't have to follow the rules of decency, and rules the rest of society is expected to adhere to.

I would lay my house down, if those same blind and in-group bias-led United supporters—who ignore the contradictions and hypocrisy that would make many other club's supporters whince—were to have Alex Ferguson as their employer or school teacher, I'm pretty certain their attitude towards his arrogant and contradictive behaviour would be considerably different.

But whilst he is leading the club to success after success, it's easy for some to just turn a blind eye.

It's even easier for those who know the score when it comes to the "great" man and his "mind games," and are happily, and intentionally, backing the manager for the sake of a pathetic football rivalry.

Welcome to Anfield AA!

Liverpool FC confirmed this evening that Alberto Aquilani has successfully completed a medical and agreed a five-year contract with the club. The player will now continue his rehabilitation from an ankle operation under the guidance of Liverpool's medical team and is expected to be fully fit in approximately four to eight weeks' time

Having passed a medical and agreed a contract with Liverpool, here are ten things you need to know about Alberto Aquilani.

Alberto is a Roman centurion, having made 147 appearances for the club he has supported since he was a boy. He celebrated his 100th game for Roma in style, scoring a 35-yard screamer in a 2-0 victory at Palermo in the opener of the 2007-08 campaign.

The Roma fans nicknamed their hometown hero 'Il Principino' or 'the little prince'.

England boss Fabio Capello was in the hot seat at Roma when Aquilani took his Serie A bow, aged just 18, in a 3-1 victory against Torino on 10 May 2003.

Roma were runners-up in Serie A on four occasions while Aquilani was at the club, but they won the Coppa Italia twice and the Supercoppa Italiana once with him on the books.

The new Kop star was so nearly the hero in the 2006 final of the Supercoppa Italiana, bossing the first half and scoring two well-worked team goals before his side somehow threw away their 3-0 lead and lost a classic encounter 4-3 to Inter Milan.
Aquilani will become the third Italian player to represent Liverpool under Rafa Benitez. As well as current Reds full-back Andrea Dossena, goalkeeper Daniele Padelli made one start in a 2-2 draw against Charlton in May 2007 during a six-month loan spell.

Alberto has tasted Champions League action for Roma against Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, but he was not involved when his former club slumped to a heavy 7-1 defeat at Old Trafford on 10 April 2007.

As well as boasting 20 caps and five goals for Italy U-21s, Alberto has represented the senior Italian side 11 times. He scored a brace for his country in a World Cup 2010 qualifier against Montenegro on 15 October 2008. Speaking about the game, Aquilani said: "I couldn't ask for anything more. It was the most beautiful night of my life."

Alberto is engaged to 20-year-old Italian actress Michela Quattrociocche, who shot to fame following the success of her 2008 debut film 'Scusa Ma Ti Chiamo Amore' ('Sorry If I Love You').

Born on 7 July 1984, 25-year-old Alberto shares his birthday with former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. Liverpool's new recruit will be hoping that - with a little help from his friends - he will soon be bringing more silverware to Anfield.

Bye Xabi

Abang Teng's wanted you to stay but you insisted to move. Goodbye and enjoy yourself in Spain.

Happy Birthday Alyssa !

Happy Birthday to my another friend that is my ex-classmate Alyssa.. she also shares the same birdday with Sierras.. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Sierras

It's Sierra's Birthday and I managed to get to celebrate twice with him, once was when abang Teng's and I went to his house to gave him a birthday surprise ( the pictures are still in abang Teng's cellphone ) while the 2nd time was at EEC because one of my student happened to share the same birthday with him. Enjoy the pictures.

Liverpool paints the Lion RED!

ALONSO STAY!!!

It’s been a long day for Rafa Benitez and his players after saying goodbye to Thailand and hello to Singapore! When the Reds arrived at Singapore airport they were greeted by a hoard of security guards at the foot of the plane, all of whom took the opportunity to produce their camera phones and break into a quiet rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' as the players were taken away to a VIP lounge for refreshments. Bangkok may have set the standards, but Singapore rose to the challenge in style as Liverpool spent the past week proving they really do have the best fans in the world.

Liverpool's time in Singapore, just as in Thailand, was split between public events and important training sessions, with the highlight being a cruise down the Singapore River which drew upwards of 25,000 fans to cheer the Reds along the route.

So as the Liverpool squad look forward to a well earned three days off following their successful trip to Asia, Singaporean Kopites will bask forever in the special memories they have been privileged to enjoy over the last few days.

Singapore may be almost seven thousand miles away from Anfield, but for one never to be forgotten week the Kop was taken to Asia - and our many fans in faraway lands proved just why Liverpool FC is the best club in the world.

BANGKOK has gone Liverpool crazy.

Sawah-dee-CUP

Real Madrid can buy every player, but not Liverpool! Alonso don't move? Thai English! LOL

It was supposed to be a low-key arrival into Bangkok's old airport when the Reds touched down earlier today, but that didn't stop hundreds of fanatical Reds from clinging onto all possible vantage points to watch their heroes emerge from their chartered plane. Fortunately most of the players had slept during the overnight flight so were able to smile for the cameras.

Scarves were lofted proudly in the air and eyes filled up as the Thais sang a rendition of our famous anthem.

Liverpool have loved Thailand this week and Thailand have certainly loved Liverpool.

"Please come back soon," said one flag on the route out of the stadium as the official coaches snaked away back to the team hotel.

And so as Liverpool wave goodbye to Bangkok, Rafa's reds will now be looking to make even more dreams come true over the rest of the week when they say hello to their equally fanatical fans in Singapore.

The Xabi Alonso Saga

The 12 step program to life after Xabi

As any of you who have quit smoking/drinking/heroin know, it is not easy. It tears at you consistently for days and weeks afterwards as you constantly challenge your decision, and withdrawal symptoms aplenty turn you from a dependant but relatively-healthy and sane individual into a gibbering wreck one second away from fits of convulsions. Soon Liverpool football club will be about to go through this process. For the duration of this piece they shall be referred to as 'Subject A'.

Subject A has an addiction that it does not want to give up, but circumstances have decreed that it has no choice anymore. Like a drinker who's been told his liver is one more shot of bourbon away from failing, the decision has rather been made for the subject by other parties. The arguing, denials and pleas have all failed, so now the painful process must begin.

Thankfully, I might add, Subject A's great rivals and fellow former addicts are also going through a similar process. It will at least be of some amusement to see them suffer the same pain of withdrawal.

As with any final decision to give up an addiction, there were usually a few test runs beforehand that failed. Nearly half of all smokers in the UK vow to give up smoking around new year, and so it was with us when Subject A's manager Rafa decided to try and give up the addiction last summer, only for it to cling on.

So now here it is, the time is approaching when we shall no longer see the name Alonso in the lists of players, and we must prepare for life without him. We can do this by following the 12 step program which I've shamelessly borrowed from The AA(just in case you were thinking of doing the real thing) and doctored here for our purposes.

STEP 1

Admit we are powerless over our addictionI think it's fair to say that's an easy step. Look at how poor we were at times 2 years ago when Xabi was off form. When he played badly last season, we played badly. And we don't usually put up this much of a fuss for any old player leaving the club...

STEP 2

Believe in something greaterAgain this should be fairly easy. No one player is bigger than the team, and no matter how important he is to our style of play, and how badly we may him his creative influence in the middle, he's just one of eleven. The team is paramount, and although it will never be the same again, it can still be even better, just playing slightly differently depending on who we bring in.

STEP 3

Put our fate in the hands of a higher powerWell, there's really only one man who's stood firm throughout all the torrid times Liverpool have been through these last five years, and that's Rafa. He has somehow managed to guide us to title challengers on a budget that compared to Chelsea and United's is remarkable. He may not like it any more than we do, but even more so over the last 12 months than before, I trust Rafa to see us through this little storm and on to greater things. After all, he presided over our last dropping of addiction; the Owen saga.

STEP 4

Look on the bright sideThe actual step in the AA text is to 'make a searching moral inventory of oneself', but this amounts to the same thing. As well as Rafa himself, Gerrard, Torres, Kuyt, Benayoun, Agger and others have all committed their long-term futures to the club. They all know that we're on the right path, with or without Xabi.

STEP 5

Admit to ourselves that we'll miss himYes, of course we will. The man who netted the equalising goal in Istanbul? The man who scored from his own half twice, once with each foot? The man who was our heartbeat and arguably one of the nicest members of the dressing room? It's natural to feel upset at moments like these, but we should cherish the good times and not dwell on what might have been. Don't soil what has been a fantastic five years at Anfield for Xabi by condemning his actions now.

STEP 6

Wipe the slate cleanThe number 14 shirt is up for grabs, the central midfield heartbeat role is available. We can command most of the world's best players to turn their heads when we come calling, and with a potential £30million minimum to spend on them, we shouldn't be getting any dross. There will be someone in as replacement therapy. Alright, as with smokers and lollipops (the way I did it, usually it's gum though) it's never quite the same at first, but gradually as you get more and more used to it you stop noticing the difference and instead start to see the greater picture - a team playing well and winning games.

STEP 7

Use this as an opportunity to improve the position, if possibleXabi was great, but even he had his down points. He was still occasionally caught in possession, he was never the quickest, and most pertinently, he was never the most prolific in front of goal. As mentioned in other articles, what benefit a 10 or 12 goal a season central midfielder to add to our attacking talent?

STEP 8

Think of who we could get in insteadIf Madrid have too many players, why not one of their better lesser lights? Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben? So long as it's not another Nunez-style dross (I'm looking at you Negredo) then we're sure to get in some class acts. Even if it's an all-cash fee, imagine what Rafa could do with £30million?

STEP 9

Compare our position with that of our rivalsThis is the first time I've gone completely away from what the actual 12-step programme states, as I'm not really sure how Liverpool FC can 'Make direct amends to such people (you have harmed) wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others'.United have lost Ladyboy and Tevez, replacing them with an injury-prone England-obsessed player, a player who's sum league goal tally in the Premiership is about 4 goals in two years, and an unknown Frenchman who might well be great but looks to me more like Bellion than Best.Arsenal are about to lose one of their two prized assets (Adebayor) and for all Wenger's shrewdness in these matters, you can't help but feel it's a loss that will really hurt them on the field. They may also lose Fabregas, which I think would be terrible and personally don't want to see.Man City have done nothing to suggest to me that they'll be any more of a threat this season than they were last. You can sign all the forwards you like, but you'll still ship goals to any team with a decent attack.Finally Chelsea have just lowered the average age of their squad by signing the 30-year old Andrea Pirlo. For £18million. Seriously though, they may well do well this coming season, but again, I don't see them as being any stronger than I did this time last year, when we all thought they were about to re-challenge. We dealt with them then, we can deal with them again.

STEP 10

Admit we were wrong about LucasThis might be a difficult one to do. Lucas has had something of a rough time in his two years at Anfield so far, but the fact is he has been steadily improving during his time with us. He can, and will, step up and fill some of the void. I'm not saying he'll be challenging Stevie and Nando for player of the year accolades, but he's getting better and better. This *could* be his year, it's certainly going to be his big chance.

STEP 11

Get behind the boss, get behind the clubAs with the real list, this is an extension of step two. Right now the club are preparing for their most crucial season since 2002, and all of us have seen so many false dawns we don't dare think that it might actually be the one this time.

STEP 12

Be postive!Whatever doubts we may have (or may be had for us by rivals, the press/media and others), we must still wear the shirt with the pride and loyalty of always. We've a title to win fer feck's sake!No-one can take away the great moments we had last season, such as the 4-1 thrashing of them down the road. Did I mention that Xabi didn't play in that game? What about arguably our best actual team performance of the season, the 5-1 victory at Newcastle. Alonso only came on in the 61st minute.

Alright those are two isolated examples, but proof enough that the team is greater than just this one player.There is an item in the news today celebrating the 16th birthday of a brave girl from Wales, who had a new heart 'piggy-back transplanted' onto her faulty one when she was two. With Mascherano now almost certain to stay, all we need is a similar operation to piggy-back transplant a quality new player into Alonso's void and we'll be running smoothly in no time.

The Week Of Enigma?

Earnest took the What Does the Week You Were Born Say About You? quiz and got the result: The Week of the Enigma.

The Week of the Enigma:
You are tough to figure out; you have a hard time showing emotion and are a guarded individual. You are highly private and do not like to discuss your personal or family life with anyone. You have great inner strength, and take pride in your individuality; you are able to inspire confidence in others. You are kind, thoughtful, considerate and do not like to bother others with your difficulties. Asking for help is very hard for you. You have a zany side and love humor in many forms. You have a rich fantasy life and pride yourself on your good taste in people as well as intellectual matters. You have extremely high standards and a small social circle. You can put yourself under great stress and enjoy being involved with active, outgoing types, who are a good foil to your thoughtful and at times withdrawn personality.

Strengths: Tasteful – Practical – Thoughtful
Weaknesses: Guarded – Over exacting – Detached

LOL!!!

I've taken many Facebook quizes and this turn out to be the most accurate about myself!

R.I.P MJ

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009), known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time. His unique contributions to music and dance, along with a highly publicized personal life, made him a prominent figure in popular culture for four decades.

I had always loved some of his songs and it would be sad for him to leave before his final concert. RIP Michael!