Warning this post may contain some Liverpool bashing, read on at your own peril!

Last night I attended the Liverpool vs. Thai National team friendly in Bangkok with my wife.  I’m not a Liverpool fan, or a Thai national team fan, but it’s not often you get to see a Premier League team in Thailand.

My wife had bought a Liverpool shirt that she wanted to get some autographs on and we had bought VIP tickets (cost almost $90 each) so that we could be in a good spot and hopefully get some close up pictures and autographs with the players.

The stadium was almost full with probably around 50,000 fans (as reported on TV), most wearing Liverpool shirts, as Liverpool are very popular here in Thailand.

The players slowly filtered onto the pitch 1 or 2 at a time to warm up and we waited at the front hoping that some of the players would come over to sign some names.  But they did not seem interested in the fans, and we figured they were just focusing on the upcoming match.

Liverpool had brought most of their big name players with them, such as Mascherano, Alonso, Torres, Reina, Kuyt and Johnson.  Liverpool started the first half brightly and Babel looked especially quick as he caused the Thai defense all kind of problems and managed to get on the score sheet within the first 6 minutes.  Some other stand out players in the first half were Insua at left back, and Lucas in the midfield.  But it was clear that Liverpool were not fully fit, and not used to playing in such hot and humid conditions.

The Thai team played some good quick passing football and were often able to find space on the right wing, but every time they’d get near to goal Carragher seemed to be there to clear it.

Again at the end of the half we waited right where the players exit the field, still no autographs.  Jamie Carragher did throw his warm up jersey to the crowd, but that became the highlight of fan interaction for the evening.

The Liverpool players came out for the second half with a largely changed team.  It seemed to be a stronger side, with more confidence in their play.  There were however some players who really were woeful.  Jay Spearing seemed to always want the ball in the middle of the park, the trouble was every time he’d get it he would scuff a pass into the crowd or stub his toe trying to shoot.   El Zhar also did not make an impact in his 10 minutes of play, he came off “injured” but it seemed like he didn’t want to be there at all.

Mascherano played well until he started putting in some really disgraceful tackles, if it wasn’t a friendly he could well have received 4 or 5 yellows.  And the 1 yellow card he did receive could well have been a straight red.  I lost count of the number of times he clattered through the back of Datsakorn Thonglao, the Thai captain, in the midfield.

The Thai team managed to pull a goal back towards the end of the match to tie it up at one all, with a smoothly played one-two and a good finish off the inside of the post by Sutee Sumsomkit.

Torres started to warm up and the crowd went wild, he was clearly the fans favorite by a long shot.  He came on with 10 minutes remaining along with Riera.  With Torres first touch of the ball the atmosphere was electric and he ran at the heart of the Thai defense, put through a ball for Vornonin, who continued his disappointing performance with another miss.

Riera looked very sharp, running the midfield like his own personal training camp, for me he was Liverpool’s man of the match, a pity he only played for 10 minutes.   For the Thai side I think Thonglao was the man of the match, he was at the center of everything the Thai’s built, and after the nasty tackles he took from Mascherano no one can doubt his heart or commitment.

Again at the end of the match we waited at the front for the players to come and sign some autographs, but again nothing, they just walked right back to the changing room barely acknowledging the 50,000 fans who had turned up.  We then walked to the bus loading area, and waited by the fence, where we expect the players to sign some autographs before boarding the bus.  But to my shock they just boarded the bus, again without even a wave for the few hundred fans queuing for autographs.  They just sat on the bus on their cellphones starring through the crowd in a similar manner that one might ignore a homeless bum begging for a quarter.  It was almost degrading.

I was especially disappointed with Rafa Benitez, I didn’t even see him sneak onto the field, the first time I realized he had actually shown up was went he appear on the big screen already in the dugout.  And at the end of the game he walked quickly off the pitch surround by security and an umbrella, head down, didn’t even look up at the fans, let alone wave, sign any autographs or pose for some photos.

Reminds me why I’m a United fan, when you see the great man, Sir Alex Ferguson himself, signing autographs on the way to the dugout although he has already won more awards than Rafa could ever hope for.