Liverpool FC Forum

[Kash_Mountain]

I know we can't get to the CL finals every season. We've got to give others a chance I suppose

I really felt we were going to do it this season.  But we know now that we don't have enough quality.  It's true to say that Arsenal played better this season but if we had 2 or 4 more quality players then I'm sure we'd be there.

[sgs]

I cannot but feel bitter about the contribution of Riise in the two games;

- first the very visible own goal;
- then Drogba's 1st goal where he clearly was ball watching. He ran to cover the angle to his left, then inexplicably stopped! There is no way Drogba could've scored on Evra, Cole or Clichy in a similar situation.
- then again on Drogba's 2nd goal. A one-two pass situation was clearly developing between Anelka and Essien(?) and rather than track Anelka's run opted to play him offside with no clue where his fellow defenders were!

IMO this clearly underlines the value of having quality players. A top team should have top players, period! While I accept the value of building a deep squad, that quality is negated by sub-standard players. We need to first secure the quality of the first team.

As we approach the off-season, Rafa's decisions WILL determine whether we will end the next season without the EPL trophy.

We need two high quality lateral defenders, a top support striker and a wide player; and perhaps a goalkeeper who can challenge Reina....

[Emerald Red]

The points gap isnt the issue. The issue is whether we have anytime been in the race for the title.  It may be 11 points this year but we never were in the hunt to win it so that gap means nothing even though it is smaller.

So according to you, we've never been in the race? Where were you in roughly two months ago? The game against the Mancs at OT was critical. We were right in the hunt then. If we'd won that, then we were close to 5 or 6 points off Arsenal, and look what's happened to them. We are closer than you think. We're a quality second striker and a quality winger away from winning the Prem IMO.

[Emerald Red]

I cannot but feel bitter about the contribution of Riise in the two games;

- first the very visible own goal;
- then Drogba's 1st goal where he clearly was ball watching. He ran to cover the angle to his left, then inexplicably stopped! There is no way Drogba could've scored on Evra, Cole or Clichy in a similar situation.
- then again on Drogba's 2nd goal. A one-two pass situation was clearly developing between Anelka and Essien(?) and rather than track Anelka's run opted to play him offside with no clue where his fellow defenders were!

IMO this clearly underlines the value of having quality players. A top team should have top players, period! While I accept the value of building a deep squad, that quality is negated by sub-standard players. We need to first secure the quality of the first team.

As we approach the off-season, Rafa's decisions WILL determine whether we will end the next season without the EPL trophy.

We need two high quality lateral defenders, a top support striker and a wide player; and perhaps a goalkeeper who can challenge Reina....

Good post there, mate. Exactly what I'm thinking also. Riise has been great for us, but times have changed and Riise has struggled to keep up. Our current right and left full backs just are not good enough; and we certainly need a single world class winger that can play both sides, and a partner for Torres. Rafa has already made it clear that he wanted to move quickly and has done for targets. Expect a few surprises here in the summer.

One fella I'm keen on getting is Marcelo Martins Moreno. Reminds me of Batigoal.

[europian-kings]

poor season as far as tophies our concerned....but id rather have a trophyless season with torres scoring 30+ goals then a carling cup winning season with torres bing a masiv mistake and getting only 10.
we now have the of the, if not the best striker in the league and it is frightening when you realise he is only going to get better.
we have a very strong centre midfield and defence....just our wide areas need a little more quality in my opinion.
we say this every year but i think if we imrpove the squadwith 2 mroe quality players that fit into the team straight away and play well then we may win the league.

[Owzat]

Average season, the point tally in the league and the CL run made it average this season.

I was going to go for a rare short post, something like that in fact. We didn't improve enough on last season, the title contenders are still way ahead and Arsenal shot past us too. In some ways I'm glad we didn't reach the CL final again, too much of a distraction from the task in hand where we are falling short again. Domestic cups are just another distraction, nice to win one but winning one isn't doing anything previous managers and Rafa have all done.

Quick quiz question : name the last Liverpool (full-time) manager NOT to win a trophy of some description

[account deleted by request]

Ronnie Moran ?

[Owzat]

Ronnie Moran ?

Probably should have said one of League, FA Cup, League Cup, European Cup or UEFA/CWC Cup. (as opposed to Charity Shields and pre-season friendly competitions etc)

Think he was only ever caretaker. (9 games in charge?) I think the answer, according to my requirements of it being a trophy of proper validity, you're talking Phil Taylor who didn't manage us in the top flight. You can certainly tick off Rafa, Houllier, Evans, Souness, Dalglish, Fagan, Sir Bob Paisley and Sir Bill Shankly without a second thought - well maybe for Souness and Evans! So that's going back to the late 50s so winning cups has been managed even by some of the weaker managers of recent times. We know who was the last to win the league, Rafa could well be the fourth manager in a row to not manage it after four in a row did - and then some in most cases. I don't need to pull up the honours for King Kenny, Sir Bob, Sir Bill but maybe for Joe Fagan who didn't manage for that many seasons before Kenny took over.

Joe Fagan : Manager (1983-85) 
Honours: 1 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP 1983-84
1 LEAGUE CUP 1983-84
1 EUROPEAN CUP 1983-84
RUNNERS UP League Championship - 1984-85 European Cup - 1984-85 European Super Cup - 1985 World Club Championship - 1984 Charity Shield - 1984

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/managers/fagan/

So in his own right he too was immense, not many can have managed so much in such a short space of time. Those four account for 13 of our league titles and all but one of our European Cups and all but one of our UEFA Cups and so on..........

[account deleted by request]

Rafa Benitez delivers his verdict on Liverpool's season
May 3 2008


NOT bad, but could have been better. For Rafael Benitez, a season of further progress also underlined the size of the task to return Liverpool to the pinnacle of English football.

As the dust settles on their dramatic Champions League semi-final exit to Chelsea, a cursory glance at the summary suggests it’s easy to dismiss this as Liverpool’s worst year under the Spaniard.

No major silverware for the second successive season. No final for the first time with Benitez. The season over before May. Fourth spot in the Premier League after two third-placed finishes.

But those blunt statistics disguise plenty of reasons to be encouraged that Liverpool remain on the right path, particularly given that the campaign has been played out to a backdrop of such behind- the-scenes turmoil.

The Anfield outfit have already surpassed last season’s points total, and should they avoid losing their last two games they will register their lowest number of league defeats since their last title win in 1990.

In Fernando Torres, Liverpool have acquired perhaps Europe’s most deadly striker, while the likes of Ryan Babel and Lucas Leiva show plenty of promise for the future as Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano have grown into a formidable midfield duo.

For Benitez, though, the challenge is painfully clear.

As those brave enough to watch the Champions League final later this month will discover, Liverpool aren’t just competing against the financial might of England’s best in the Premier League – their rivals are the best in Europe.

“It’s not easy,” says Benitez. “Think about all the critics this season, saying you haven’t won the title after 18 years. Who is at the top of the league? Chelsea and United. Who are the best teams in Europe? Chelsea and United. So to win the title here is more difficult than other countries.

“I will do my best to be as high a possible and always I will do the same. I want to fight and improve and I will be fighting, I like to do it. I want to be closer and if I cannot people will say I can’t win the title. It’s the same situation.

“I will try to improve. I have two more years and am really pleased here and want to win. Next season I want to be in another semi-final and do things better and be closer to the top of the table.

“Maybe I will not be good enough but I will try. Working harder is the only way.”

Of this season, Benitez adds: “We’ve won the Champions League, FA Cup, been third and lost in a Champions League final in the last three years, so it’s difficult if I’m asked if this is the most disappointing season.

“If you analyse the league, it’s not a bad season. But it could have been better. We felt we could win the league and we were closer to the other teams but if you look at the position now we are one step behind. But we are going forward.

“That is the reason we need to do everything almost perfectly both in the market and during the season.”

Benitez accepts that squad rebuilding – and, more pertinently, the heavyweight backing to facilitate it – will be crucial this summer.

“Look who was on the bench for Chelsea on Wednesday – Malouda, Anelka and Shevchenko,” he says. “Think about the price of these three players. We are improving but we need to keep going.

“How much money have Chelsea and United spent for winning the title and being top of the league? You cannot go there in one season so you need to keep going and building the team.

“Sometimes you spend money like on Torres, sometimes it’s bringing in young players like Insua, Plessis, Nemeth and other young players.”

That reserve trio will be promoted to training with the first team at Melwood next season and could be involved tomorrow afternoon when Manchester City visit Anfield with little riding on the game.

Fernando Torres and Martin Skrtel, who both limped off during Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat, trained yesterday and are in line for a start tomorrow.

Harry Kewell also resumed full training after five weeks out with a hamstring problem but won’t be considered, while Daniel Agger (foot) and Fabio Aurelio (adductor) are out.

For once, Benitez won’t be the manager under pressure in the dug-out at Anfield with City’s Sven-Goran Eriksson poised to be given the boot by chairman Thaksin Shinawatra.

And Benitez has sympathy for the Swede. “Eriksson has done a good job and for me it’s a surprise because it seemed he would be there for a long time,” he says. “But that’s football. Be careful.”

Benitez’s own wisdom was once again questioned by some for his decision to bring on Ryan Babel and not Peter Crouch in place of an injured Torres on Wednesday, and also for his pre-match comments decrying the diving of Didier Drogba.

But the Spaniard laughed off any criticism. “The substitution of Skrtel was a big problem,” he says. “We had one substitution gone and we needed fresh legs and to keep the ball and Jermaine Pennant was an option and that was the second substitution.

“When Torres told me he had a problem with his hamstring, I had to decide to keep the balance with the pace and ability of Ryan and that worked in the end because he scored.

“I could have changed everything and put in a target man and started playing long balls. You can decide one way or the other but at the end of the day Ryan scored a good goal and it could have been a key goal.”

Of two-goal Drogba, Benitez adds: “How many fouls did he get? One. How many times did he dive? None, I was never, ever talking about Drogba as a bad player. He had a foul at the beginning of the game and no diving.

“He has done that and scored goals for years and it was to protect my players from silly fouls around the edge of the box so the job was done.”

               ---------------------------------------------

[god_bless_john_houlding]

the season overall has been a disgrace.

out of the title race by christmas again, yes we had a little spurt where some idiots (mainly me) regained hope of winning the league, but even those like me who don't give up until it's impossible, must of realised being 5/6 points off the top with about 10 games to go was still asking a lot. We couldn't really of dropped that many points, while still hoping for the top three all to lose a couple of games. We were never realistically in the title chase.

europe was embarrassing to start with. 1 point from three games in a group we should of walked away with. We got better, knocking out Inter and Arsenal and playing quite well over the 4 legs. Disappointing to go out to Chelsea, but these things happen.

FA Cup...well least said. Replay to beat Luton. 2 goals conceeded to Havant and Waterlooville and to top it off going out to Barnsley at Anfield. Fair enough their cup ties and the whole magic of the FA Cup in particular is shocks happen. 3 bad results aren't shocks, it's laziness and lack of desire by players. Having that thought that they only need to turn up to win. It was a culture shock going out to Barnsley and I think it sparked one or two into life. Carra and Kuyt especially who up to that game had been average to say the least.

League cup, again disappointing. Not to even make the semi finals of it, isn't good enough for a club of our size. It did come in the middle of our bad patch, so I suppose there's excuses there if people want them. I don't and would rather say it how it is. It was a poor showing in the league cup.

So in terms of competitions we were a disgrace. Not getting to any finals and not really challenging for the league. All those who are saying "this is the first year Benitez has had money to spend" well congratulations because it's also the first year we haven't reached a major cup final under Benitez. So much for all that money eh folks.

Players. We've seen the greatest forward on the planet arrive in Torres. Yet he can still improve which is a good thing. Skrtel hasn't made to many mistakes, yet he can also improve. Hyypia has been as good as anyone this year. Crouch again proving why he's good enough to play for this club. Mascherano has been going about his buisness in typical Mascherano fashion (run after the ball till it comes to him) Kuyt was a total waste of time up until mid feburary, but the last couple of months he's showed he does have some talent. Gerrard and Carra haven't been at their best this year but still performed to a high level. Alonso/Reina/Riise/Voronin all have had disappointing seasons. Pennant/Benayoun/Aurelio/Arebloa have been nothing special but not exactly the worst performers in the squad. Babel and Lucas have performed well for their debut seasons. Next year we should see the best of them. Kids coming through reguarlly has again been none.

Reserves and youth overall...fantastic. Hopefully a few can make the step up next year...given the chance of course.

Transfers, have been reasonably good this season. Torres, Skrtel, Lucas, Babel, Mascherano (at last) all been successes. Benayoun and Voronin could do with being shipped out along with Intandje. Outgoings, again Benitez has sold the right players at the right time. Sissoko and Garcia mainly, but also Bellamy, Cisse, Fowler, Gonzalez, Zenden, Dudek and Paletta. Another year with us, probably would of hurt their careers rather than benifited them.

Discipline has been sound. Can't remember to many suspensions for red cards or collecting to many yellows. Mascherano against United and Crouch in the carling cup against Chelsea. Other than that, I can't recall another red card. So we're not a side who lose our heads to often, either that or we don't go in for tackles, but I'd rather believe it's the fact that we don't lose our heads.

Manager...not the genius people think he is. Too much rotation, too many bad tactical decisions, too many poor substitutions and too many excuses throughout the season.

Boardroom. Least said. Brought the good name of the club right down. Have done nothing in the Liverpool way. Quicker it's sorted out the better so the good name of Liverpool Football Club can again be making the back pages for the right reason.

Overall. A disappointing season.

[dawson99]

my verdict on season: bad
poor football for most part
out of title race too early
no trophies, no finals
only shimemr of light is the decent signings and hopefully they continue next season to make a proper charge

[account deleted by request]

Harry Kewell also resumed full training after five weeks out with a hamstring problem

Poor Harry timed his fitness to perfection again only for Liverpool to let him down by not making the CL final. I think he may now be fed up of Liverpool letting him down so often and decide to give another club the chance.

[woof woof !]

the season overall has been a disgrace.

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah ad infinitum.



Overall. A disappointing season.

the season overall has been a disgrace.

Overall. A disappointing season.

Let us know when you've made up your mind, disgraceful or disappointing ?

Plank !

[god_bless_john_houlding]

Harry Kewell also resumed full training after five weeks out with a hamstring problem

Poor Harry timed his fitness to perfection again only for Liverpool to let him down by not making the CL final. I think he may now be fed up of Liverpool letting him down so often and decide to give another club the chance.

[The Manhattan Project]

Overall, I'd say an average season.

The gap has closed I think between us and the Prem title. Draws not defeats have been the problem.

In the Champions League, we were awful at first but got better and better before narrowly eliminating ourselves.

The cup competitions were entertaining, but otherwise pointless.

Much to be hopeful for I think. A few new additions to the team and we'll improve again.

But the backroom stuff has to be sorted too. The new stadium is urgently required.