Have Liverpool's Youngsters Stopped the Rumour Mill For The Time Being

The next round of the Europa Cup was now upon us and it appeared that Roy had decided to leave Stevie and Torres at home. Again this is a decision that has caused many differing opinions because Torres in particular needs games to restore what little confidence he has left. Napoli was also not going to be one of those games that a lot of people would class a pushover and it was felt that a strong team should have been fielded. Roy though, is his own man and many of the youngsters were included in the squad that flew out on Wednesday morning. Again the rumour mill swung into action as soon as it was made aware that Kenny Dalglish, along with Stevie and Torres had not travelled. Many supporters were saying that he was being prepared to take over the reins on Friday morning; others said that they were all talking to Frank Rijkaard to try and persuade him to become Liverpool FC's next manager. Both of course have not been proven either way and will remain one of those mysteries.

The reason they were forgotten very quickly surfaced on Thursday morning when the British Media became aware of Liverpool Supporters being attacked by Napoleon gangs called Ultras. From the stories reaching these shores from Naples it appeared that they were after anyone with a red shirt on their backs and up to six people required medical attention, three of whom remain I understand in hospital. Very quickly extra security advice was given and we all urged to get it to those supporters in Italy via every modern form of communication there was available. I think a lot of people could see the horrors of Hillsborough and Heyel being repeated all over again.
Thankfully things appeared to calm down and everyone looked forward to the game. Although it was an early evening kick off, the stadium in Napoli was very full and the noise deafening. Would this deter the team, which Roy being true to his word contained Jay Spearing, Martin Kelly, JonJo Shelvey along with first teamers Ryan Babel, Jovanovic and Konchelsky. Jamie was captain for the evening and would as everyone knew, lead by example.

The game itself was really nothing to shout home about. It was one of those where it very quickly become obvious that Roy Hodgson in his match planning had decided that a draw would be the desirable result. Napoli did their best to run rings around the team but for once our defence seemed too be able to cope and apart from one near miss really did not give the Liverpool players much to think about. Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing had a very good game proving that they should be in contention for a first team place, whereas Babel showed the first team place he is craving, should not be given to him. Yet again, he appeared to forget what a football looked like and how to play the game. Poulsen who in all honesty was a bad buy, remained anonymous for most of the game and yet somehow got the man of the match award. Jonjo Shelvey, another of the youngster had a brilliant game with several good passes and a couple of go's at the goal. This of course proves that if the youngsters are given a chance, they will shine. Would they do the same in a major premiership game? I really wish Roy would give them the chance to try, but he seems to be unwilling or is unable to stand up to certain players and tell them that their days in the first team are numbered.

Something happened last night during the game, which culminated with Jamie being substituted at half time. The official excuse was that he would have to play again on Sunday, so needed to have a rest. I am sorry but I think there is probably a lot more to it than that, Jamie plays in every game, so why he is suddenly rested - I think I will let the rumour mill work that one out for now.

All said and done though, Roy got the draw he wanted and the youngsters proved yet again what an asset to the club they are.

So yes, his job as manager of Liverpool is safe for the moment. In fact he, himself, has come out in the last 24 hours and said that he would never resign. My answer to that is, of course he wouldn't for the simple reason, a clause has been written into his contract, whereby he gets a year's salary as compensation, if the new owners decide to bring in their own man.

Sunday though is another matter, we are playing Blackburn at home and already it has become a must win game due to our precarious position at the bottom of the league. Of course Sam Alladyce has already started to try and wind up Roy with his comments. Will it work, I wonder or will Roy actually show some bottle and prove that yes he can manage well. If not, I honestly believe that John Henry and Thomas Werner have a decision to make and it needs to be made quickly.

Of course again if we lose, the rumour mill will swing into action very quickly and that is something that will unfortunately undermine what little confidence there appears to be in the team at the moment.