When the goin' get tough.....

Senor Rafa Benitez


Supporting Liverpool Football Club (LFC) has been a real roller coaster ride for fans across the world. I might be (am) biased but there's no football club like LFC. Not the red side of Manchester, not Arsenal and certainly not Chelsea! We have a rich tradition, a wonderful history and certainly, the most successful British football club that the world has ever seen. Well, things are goin' great til.....

Came the Americans with their promises to make us the biggest and most powerful footie club the universe has ever seen. Mr. Gillette can't afford to buy LFC alone, so came Mr. Hicks. 50%-50%, equal shares, equal power, same objectives...... but can't see eye to eye! Then came the public fall-out between the yankies. Then came the bombshell that all the fans got the shock of our lives; our beloved club is being saddled with a huge huge debt. Something the Yanks told us will never happen! Then the back stabbing of our much loved manager, Rafael Benitez. Fans power made sure Rafa stayed on and continue with his rebuilding works.......
The Yankies always made promises that they'll back Rafa to the tilt but now it's clear for all to see. The Yanks are telling lies (again). Back a manager means giving him funds for player acquisition, not sell before you can buy! It's tough being in Rafa's shoes. It's a uncomfortable shoe but Rafa is a tough cookie. The owners are not backing him but the players and fans are....


Which brings me to the current political climate here. There are so much similarities between our PM and Rafa. Both have great personalities; inner strength, approachable and pleasant. Both are having a tough time managing their "squad". While Rafa got to deal with 2 lying owners, AAB gotta deal with the "not so good looking" economy. High oil prices coupled with a heavy defeat in the last GE has caused some of his team players calling for the manager to be sacked. Now this is where Rafa can say he's the luckiest guy in the world. At least the most influential player; our captain marvel, Stevie G has supported him all the way. The senior players are with him. No doubt even we finished 4th in th league. For Pak Lah, he has to face one of the most influential ex-player, the now retired team boss. And now, it seems that the reserve players from Sabah is calling for his head! (Sabah politics have always been on the back seat). It's not the right thing to do but like football players, they won't like the idea of sitting on the bench. You can quit the club, ask for transfer or perform better so the manager selects you for the next match. BUT YOU NEVER ASK FOR THE MANAGER TO BE SACK! Shocking!

So maybe the whole nation should be a LFC supporter. Learn from us. We, the fans have stood by our manager through the good and the bad times. We won our 5th European Champions League title with Rafa, and in a FA trophy and consistently finishing in top 4 even though we do not have the financial muscle like ManU or Chelsea. I must admit, Rafa ain't perfect and so is Pak Lah; but they both are the best we have right now. As a nation, stand by Pak Lah. Let him finish his rebuilding works. His squad members must perform and play their hearts out for the club we call Malaysia!

Once a Red, always a Red.
Once a Malaysian, always will be!