On behalf of everybody at Liverpool Football Club I’d like to
take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Wherever in the world you’re reading this message from, I wish you,
your families and your loved ones all the best for 2009.
To be going into a new year at the top of the Barclays Premier
League table is a just reward for all the hard work the players and
staff have put in this season.
It’s great for the confidence of the players and for the
supporters to see us at the top, but we know there is still a long
way to go and that is why you won’t hear anybody at Liverpool
talking about winning the title.
We have had a good first half to the season, but that’s all it
is. If we can do the same over the rest of the campaign then we
will have a chance, but there are still lots of games to play and
lots of points up for grabs before we can start talking about what
the end of the season may bring.
We have had a few disappointing setbacks this season,
particularly at Anfield, but we have also shown we can compete with
and beat the best in the country, so there’s every reason to be
confident as we look forward to 2009.
The quality in our squad is better than it was twelve months
ago, the new players who have arrived have all made a contribution
and that is why I am confident we are continuing to make progress
and are moving in the right direction as a club.
As well as enjoying a good start to the domestic campaign, we
have also qualified for the last sixteen of the Champions League
having seen off the challenge of Atletico Madrid to finish top of
our group. We now look forward to the tournament resuming in
February when we again travel to Madrid, but this time to the
Bernabeu to take on Real.
A new year always brings new hopes and ambitions and those
dreams of a successful year are shared by all the staff at Anfield
and Melwood. I can never guarantee we will win silverware, but I
can promise we will all be working as hard as possible to make our
collective ambitions come true.
It just remains for me to again wish you every success in 2009,
to pass on my appreciation for the magnificent support you have
given the club over the past twelve months and to thank you for all
the cards and good wishes you sent my way both over the festive
period and following my recent illness.
Happy New Year.
Rafa.